A policeman in a fit of rage yesterday shot his lover twice in the yard at the back of her La Penitence home and then turned his service revolver on himself.
Dead are Trevor Cumberbatch, 31, who is attached to the East La Penitence Police Station and lives at 601 West Ruimveldt and his girlfriend, Selena Khan, 33, of Lot 18 Public Road, La Penitence.
Just before 11 am, Cumberbatch shot Khan in the head and chest before placing the revolver to this temple and pulling the trigger. He died on the spot while the woman succumbed on the way to the Georgetown Hospital. The incident occurred a stone’s throw away from the Ruimveldt Police Station.
Police said in a statement which was issued around 7:45 last night that their investigations have revealed that Cumberbatch, Police Constable 16773 and Khan shared an “intimate relationship”.
According to the statement the rank was detailed for duty, escorting prisoners from the Georgetown Prisons to the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
At the time he was armed with a .38 revolver and six rounds of matching ammunition and after he had deposited the prisoners at court, he “escaped from the court area and went to the home of the deceased (Khan) where he shot her in her head and chest. He then shot himself in his right temple”.
The statement did not say what could have prompted Cumberbatch’s actions.
The tragedy has left many of the policeman’s colleagues and relatives and those who knew Khan in shock and wondering what could have sparked yesterday’s events.
Stabroek News was told that the woman had apparently expressed her desire to end the relationship recently and this did not go down well with the cop.
This newspaper understands that there were no prior warnings that Cumberbatch intended to kill the woman and then commit suicide although he had once attempted to take his own life some time back.
For about one hour after the shooting, traffic was moving at snail’s pace and there were traffic jams on the La Penitence public road, all the side streets and several in Albouystown, inclusive of Hunter Street, as drivers attempted to get out of the area.
Many of the drivers had seemingly given up and parked their vehicles. Mini-buses with passengers headed to East Bank communities were trapped in the congestion.
At the La Penitence house, hundreds of curious persons gathered to get a glimpse of the bodies.
The policeman’s boots were on the front steps where he had taken them off before he entered the home.
The drain to the southern end of the yard was red with blood. Scores of the woman’s relatives and friends poured into the home to offer their support and condolences to her husband and three children.
This newspaper was told that the children were home at the time of the incident.
Persons in the area told this newspaper that at the time of the shooting, the policeman was in his uniform. Minutes after she was shot, Khan was taken outside the yard as she awaited an ambulance to take her to the hospital. When she left she was still alive but was pronounced dead when she arrived at the institution around 11:20 am.
A man living nearby told this newspaper that just before 11 am he heard one gunshot and about 10 – 15 seconds later heard two more, which came in quick succession. He said that when he heard the first shot he thought it was a robbery.
When he looked out, he said, he saw a blue and white police pick up parked in front of Khan’s home and later learned that there was a shooting.
Police from the Ruimveldt Police Station, were seen running to the scene he said adding that about 15 minutes later a police vehicle and an ambulance arrived.
Residents told this newspaper that the woman lived with her husband and three children – two girls and a boy. They said that the policeman was a frequent visitor at the woman’s home.
One man said that he last saw Khan just after midnight yesterday when he dropped her home from the Gospel Concert which was held at the National Stadium as part of the Carifesta celebrations.
Stabroek News was told that the woman was a very friendly person and loved to gaff a lot.
Khan had been living at her present address for about eight years.
Meanwhile, Cumberbatch’s relatives were still in tears when this newspaper visited the home.
His sister Oslyn Cush said that she received a telephone call informing her that he had died but she does not know anything about what had transpired prior to the shooting.
According to Cush, Khan was her brother’s girlfriend.
Asked if her brother was ever involved in a domestic incident, the woman, with tears in her eyes replied in the affirmative, stating that it had involved his former wife, about three years ago. She said that he was divorced and was the father of three children, two boys and a girl.
The policeman also leaves to mourn six siblings and his parents Dawn Mc Donald and Robin Moses.
