Man choked wife to death, wrapped body in bedsheet & dragged to grave

In what can be considered one of the most bizarre crimes of recent, the community of Kilcoy/Chesney on the Corentyne was left in utter shock when they woke up to the news that the body of their neighbour, friend and relative was found in a decomposed state, buried in a shallow grave mere meters away from her home.

Dead is Waynumattie Permaul, a mother of four. Her husband, the suspect, has been identified as 55-year-old Avemanen Permaul known as ‘Terry’; he confessed to murdering the 53-year-old woman at their Kilcoy/Chesney, Corentyne, Berbice house.

He provided the police with the gruesome details of the incident, revealing that he beat and choked her after which he wrapped her body in a bedsheet and dragged her to the shallow grave he dug opposite their residence.

He confessed to the crime on Friday morning under intense interrogation by detectives and led the ranks to the gravesite at around 02:00hrs.

The murder took place between April 21 and 22 at the couple’s Kilcoy house at around 18:30hrs but it was not until April 28 that one of their sons – 32-year-old Veerasammy Permaul – filed a missing person’s report with the police.

Permaul is a well-known West Indies cricketer. The News Room understands that the couple separated some two years ago but lived in the same house – the wife in the lower flat and the husband in the upper flat.

The suspect told the police that between 18:00hrs and 18:30hrs on April 21, he heard his wife on the telephone with a male and he got upset.

He said he confronted her in her bedroom and an argument ensued during which he cuffed, beat and choked her. The husband recalled that the woman eventually collapsed and appeared motionless.

Based on his confession, he wrapped up his wife in a “bedspread”, left her on the floor, walked across about 100 yards opposite the house where there is an empty land space and dug a hole.

He claimed he returned to the house and “dragged” his wife’s motionless body to the hole and covered it with dirt; he then returned home until he was arrested a week later.

At the scene, there appeared to be pieces of cloth which appeared to be the bed sheet she was wrapped in and a garbage bag just nearby. The spot itself was covered with water from the overnight showers.

Police also found bloodstains inside the house. An autopsy is expected to be performed soon.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Henry, who lives next door to where the body was discovered, recalled the cops searching the location on Thursday night.

“I don’t know if they didn’t observe anything and they left and come back minutes after [1 am] and the sound again made me wake up and when I look out I saw police and more vehicles and I decided to come out on my landing.”

She then heard one of the policemen shouting: “the lady here, the lady here.”

She described the couple as friendly noting that they would often say ‘hi’ to her when they were passing.