Following the arrest of three suspects Friday in connection with the death of Ninawattie Nandalall, called “Sharda”, of No. 0 (54) Village, Corentyne, Berbice, two have since confessed to raping her before committing the act of murder.
The suspects told Police that they would normally venture to the backlands area where they would set traps to catch wild animals and also engage in (smoking) marijuana.
There, they met the woman who had also gone to the location in search of mangoes to make achar to resell.
The suspects said they talked with the woman and during the conversation asked her to engage in sexual intercourse. After she refused, they forced themselves unto her and committed the act of rape. She threatened to inform the Police and that’s when they decided to kill her out of fear that they would be identified and arrested.
One of the men used a knife to commit the act. The men are said to be ages 18 and 25.
Regional Commander Shivpersaud Bacchus confirmed that a post mortem has since been done but the results have not yet been made available.
The incident occurred between April 11 at about 12:30 hrs and April 12, 2024 at about 07:40 hours at No. 0 (54) Village backdam, Corentyne Berbice.
News Room reported that the woman left home around noon on Thursday in search of mangoes to make achar to sell. She, however, was never seen again, and her son, along with other relatives formed a search party to look for her. Her naked body with injuries to her face and neck were discovered in the backdam where she would normally go to get the mangoes.
Gunraj Veersammy, 27, a relative who was a part of the search team who found the body, said that they were searching with her son for hours. He said when they found her naked body, her clothes were nearby, leading them to believe that she was raped before she was killed.
The woman was described as a hardworking single parent who did all that she could to make a living. She took care of her three children (now adults) on her own for 19 years by selling coconut oil, achar and other items.
