Crane Shallow Grave: Children saw father washing blood from trunk of car – relatives

The children of the man suspected to have killed his wife and buried her in a shallow grave reportedly told relatives that they saw their father washing blood from his car.

The body of 37-year-old Zaila Sugrim was on Tuesday found in a garden inside the compound of the Shell Gas Station at Crane on the  West Coast of Demerara where Sugrim worked as a pump attendant. Relatives had reported her missing.

She was last seen with her ex-husband, Ryan Sugrim on Saturday, May 11; he has since been arrested.

Relatives said that it was less than a year ago that the woman finally broke free from an abusive relationship she shared with Surgrim for 15 years. Together, they had five children.

Zaila’s sister-in-law Nazeema Bacchus, speaking with the News Room said the man kept her away from her family and it was up until eight months ago that she escaped from his grips with three of their children from their La Grange, West Bank Demerara home.

Bacchus recalled that last Friday night Zalia left her Diamond East Bank Demerara(EBD) home to visit her sister who lives in Nandy Park, EBD, and had planned on visiting her children the next day since one of her sons was celebrating his birthday.

“He picked her up and she never reached at the home.

“The children said they never see back their mother, the girl never go there.”

The family became very suspicious when Zaila did not answer her phone nor did she return their calls, as she would in most cases.

The woman said Zaila kept going back to live with Sugrim because of their children.

Zaila revealed to her relatives that the man had threatened to kill her sometime back.

“He told her say he [would] kill her, the last time she come home she [said] he talk how he [will] kill her.

“So we tell her ‘Now, good you not going back there.’ But the children were calling her,” Bacchus related.

News Room earlier reported that the woman’s remains were partially burnt.

Neighbours in the area told the News Room that they recalled a huge fire in the area on Saturday night (May 11) – the same day that Zaila went missing.

According to the neighbours, they informed Ryan of the fire and he extinguished it himself before the fire service arrived.