The West Berbice man who allegedly hacked his wife to death and severely chopped her mother on Tuesday afternoon turned himself in yesterday at the Fort Wellington Police Station in the company of his lawyer.
The man, Andy Nicholson of D’ Edward Village is now in custody at the Central Police Station, New Amsterdam and is expected to face charges for murder and attempted murder shortly.
Trevlyn Nicholson, 23, of D’ Edward Village died around 5 pm following a heated argument between her and the suspect after she objected to a text message he received on his cell phone which read, “Andy, I still love you.”
She bled to death on the dam close to her home and her mother, 48-year-old Rolyn Alexander who witnessed the incident and tried to intervene was also severely chopped. Alexander was rushed to the Fort Wellington Hospital and immediately transferred to the George-town Public Hospital (GPH).
Reports are that the two had gone to the sea-dam to bring home their cows when the woman confronted him about the text message and he started to beat her.
The argument escalated and the man ran home for the fork and chopper. He then allegedly proceeded to end the life of the woman whom he had been married to for only four months even as persons looked on helplessly. She had also shared a common-law relationship with him.
According to reports, the suspect first hit the woman behind her neck with a garden fork before hacking her several times with a chopper. He also chopped Alexander on her forehead and other parts of her body.
A resident who was playing cricket with a group of young men at the nearby playground told this newspaper that the argument between the two started earlier in the afternoon and he witnessed the beatings.
The resident said he “reasoned with him to stop beating she and he stopped” but he said the attacker commented, “Man, this woman don’t hear; she gon know when ah go home…”
The suspect ran home for the weapons the resident said he and the other persons were afraid to do anything because “the man ignorant bad.”
He related that “sometimes when he go to look for his cows and don’t find them fast enough he would chop them so everybody does keep away from he.”
Alexander was the only one who courageously tried to stop him. She told this newspaper from the GPH on Tuesday night, “Ah watch he chopping me daughter in she head and slashing she neck and ah freeze for a minute before rushing over fuh help she.”
According to a relative Nicholson who had already taken several blows with the fork ran down the dam screaming with her attacker in hot pursuit.
Another resident “hold she but he [the attacker] fired a chop at he and he had to loose she…”
Meanwhile relatives told Stabroek News that the union ended tragically because the girl did not heed their advice to leave the man. However, during last week she had made up her mind to do so.
Closed the door
They said that on several occasions when they made reports to the police about the suspect’s abusive behaviour Nicholson would go to the station and say that he had not beaten her and the police would release him.
One such incident the relative recalled was when he closed the door to their house and was beating her. Relatives heard the screams and contacted the police who arrived shortly after and banged on the door.
The couple refused to open but the police kicked down the door and after seeing the woman’s swollen face they took the man into custody at the Blairmont Station. Surprisingly, the woman arrived at the station shortly after and told the police that he did not hit her and that her swollen face was as a result of a “cold.”
Two weeks before she got married the suspect “beat she and burst she head… When we tell she we gon report the matter to the police she get vex and asked why we get involved…”
According to the relative they did not approve of the wedding and “did not play a part because we tried to tell her he wasn’t good for her. She was a nice and quiet girl and did not deserve to pass through all that.”
Two years ago the two were at a disco in the village when they started arguing and the man “stripped off her clothes and dragged her on the road.” Her face was badly bruised in the process.
The matter was reported to the police and the suspect was charged and placed before the court. But after a few hearings the woman decided that she no longer wanted to proceed with the matter and moved in back with him.
The relative recalled that in one instance the man kicked her down the stairs. During last week the man physically abused Nicholson almost every day because she had confronted him about being seen at a horse race with another woman.
It was then that Nicholson finally decided that she had had enough and planned to move to Georgetown with her five-year-old son, Shemar Calvin.
Further, the relative told SN that the woman who had sent the text message had “played an important role at her [Nicholson’s] wedding.”
They are very pleased that the suspect had turned himself in because they had all feared for their lives.