A 54-year-old United States citizen succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital in the city on June 25 – four days after he was beaten in his head with a piece of wood by his son-in-law.
The incident occurred on Father’s Day at Lot 6 Riverview, Ruimveldt, Georgetown and the family believes that there is a massive cover-up afoot by the Police who are yet to charge the suspect.
Dead is Alexi Gomes, a father of three, who resided with his wife, daughter and grandson in the United States; he is also a Guyanese national.
Gomes travelled to Guyana in March with his four-year-old grandson but was stuck here due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
On the day of the incident, an eyewitness said Gomes and the child’s father –Zaheer Hussein –ended up in a scuffle over the four-year-old.
“I saw he come and collect his grandson and his son-in-law [Hussein] didn’t want to give him the grandson. So [Gomes] was pulling his grandson and the man [Hussein] loose the child and put one cuff in [Gomes] head,” the eyewitness stated.
The eyewitness told the News Room that the two men were engaged in a scuffle and after some time, Hussein got his hands on a piece of wood and struck Gomes to the head several times.
The 54-year-old man, covered in blood, visited the Ruimveldt Police Station to make a report but given his condition, the Police sent him to the Georgetown Public Hospital without taking his statement.
Gomes was discharged from the hospital the following day – June 22 – but fell unconscious at his home the next day.
As a result, relatives rushed him to the Woodlands Hospital and Hussein was arrested by the Police.
Gomes died at the hospital without regaining consciousness.
The suspect was subsequently released on bail after two of his relatives reportedly gave investigators another version of what occurred.
However, after Gomes died, he was re-arrested on June 30. A post mortem examination determined that Gomes died from internal bleeding and blunt trauma to the head.
The family told the News Room that the suspect is friends with a number of Police Officers and they believe this is the reason he is yet to be charged and placed before the court.
Efforts made by the News Room to contact the Police Commander for a comment on this matter proved futile.
