After returning to her home a little over a year ago following an attack that required her having emergency brain surgery, the upper body of an elderly Berbice woman was found in a burning heap aback her home.
Dead is Bhagwandai Deonarine of Plantation Hope, West Coast Berbice sometime around 19:30 hrs. Relatives said the 69-year-old woman lived alone.
Shanie Singh, a niece who took care of her, was called by neighbours when they noticed the house was in darkness at around 19:00 h.
Singh said since the Police station was just a stone’s throw away and the place was dark, she decided to ask the Police to accompany her.
“When we checked, the whole house we didn’t see her and we went upstairs but nothing too.
“So we come down and notice a fire and smoke in the backyard so we decide to see if she at the back there.”
As the party ventured into the backyard, they saw a heap with coconut branches, wood and other items burning; there they discovered the upper body of the woman.
“We see like the shoulders and head but nothing else and we recognise is she,” Singh said.
Efforts were made to extinguish the flames and the partial remains were taken to the Bailey’s funeral parlour, awaiting an autopsy.
Meanwhile, Chan Sukhra, a sibling of Deonarine, related that her sister had returned to her home just over a year ago after she was attacked by a young man some 2-3 years ago.
During that incident, the perpetrator broke a window and entered the home and when confronted, used a rolling pin to beat the woman about the mouth and head and she had to undergo emergency surgery due to a blood clot in her brain.
Fearing for her life, Deonarine spent her time with Sukhra on the West Coast of Demerara, but she gave evidence in court against the accused and he was sentenced to jail.
However, the person was released from prison recently. Deonarine returned home despite protests from relatives who feared that she was an easy target as she lived alone.
The family is unclear as to who would want to hurt the pensioner but related that robbery does not appear to be the motive since the house was not ransacked and nothing appears to be missing.
The Police in a statement confirmed that a male suspect is in custody assisting with investigations.
