Crabwood Creek: Man kills wife, dies hours later

A domestic dispute turned deadly at Crabwood Creek, Corentyne, Berbice, on Sunday morning when a man fatally chopped his reputed wife before taking his own life by ingesting poison.

The deceased have been identified as Alisha “Tito” Narine, 36, a domestic worker and vendor of Plot Z, Grant 1780, Crabwood Creek, and her partner of 15 years, Ram Singh, called “Singh,” of Tain Settlement, Corentyne. The couple shared two children and had reportedly been experiencing ongoing domestic problems that had already reached the courts.

Police reported that between 09:30 and 10:00 hrs, Narine was seated under a coconut tree in the Vishal Singh Sawmill compound, where the couple lived. During a WhatsApp video call with her cousin, Taramattie “Vanessa” Joseph, who resides in the United States, Singh was seen approaching from behind with a cutlass. He seized Narine’s phone and told Joseph, “Today, today I will murder her,” before ending the call.

Shortly after, Narine’s body was discovered behind a heap of stones in the sawmill compound, clad in blue short pants, a striped shirt and a yellow T-shirt. Police said she sustained multiple chop wounds, including a nearly severed right foot below the knee, injuries to her right shoulder, and deep wounds to her left hand.

Her daughter, 18-year-old Felisha Narine, said she was alerted by a neighbour that Singh was attacking her mother. When she arrived at the scene, she found her mother lying motionless in a pool of blood. Fighting back tears, she told reporters:
“I feel glad that he passed away because he hurt she and he hurt me. I didn’t want to see my mother like that… me mother is the only body I get and love. It really hurt me that she passed away.”

Police launched a search and found Singh about 360 feet away in a sideline trench under a tree. He had ingested a poisonous substance. Singh was arrested, cautioned, and taken under police guard to the No. 75 Village Regional Hospital, where he admitted to consuming the poison.

Despite receiving treatment, Singh succumbed at around 14:30 hrs while hospitalised.

The bodies of both Singh and Narine were removed to the Skeldon Public Hospital Mortuary, where post-mortem examinations are expected to be conducted in the coming days.

Investigations are ongoing.