The two girls who had their throats cut on Friday at Ithaca West Bank Berbice when Gertrude Edwards 31, was killed, are both still patients of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the New Amsterdam Hospital.

Edwards’ reputed husband Gladstone Williamson of Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, who is still on the run, slit her throat with a knife, then turned it on her daughter, 13-year-old Kerry Edwards and niece Samantha Charles, 16 before escaping.

When this newspaper visited the girls at the hospital yesterday, they were resting on their sides. The wounds on their necks were heavily bandaged. Relatives said they had started to take soups and juices.

Williamson’s mother, Brenda Williamson of Ituni, who arrived at the hospital in time for the 4 pm visit, kept asking, “Why, why, why, why it had to happen?”

According to neighbours, last October Edwards had moved out of the Angoy’s Avenue home to escape abuse at the hands of Williamson. However, Brenda Williamson said she had spent the last Christmas holidays with the couple. Brenda recalled that during her visit, while Edwards was washing clothes, Williamson was helping to hang them out.

According to Brenda, though Edwards and Williamson were having constant quarrels, she had never seen him beating Edwards. However, she said that both Edwards and the couple’s neighbours had complained to her that her son was in the habit of beating Edwards.

She said she sat and talked to her son about his abusive attitude towards her daughter-in-law.  According to her, she told him, “It wasn’t right to hit her and if he was angry he should have walked away.”

Brenda said Gladstone was the first of seven children and growing up he was a very quiet child and never rude.

She described Edwards as a nice person who prepared special meals for her and made her feel comfortable.

She added also, that while she was there, Edwards had told her that she was planning to leave Williamson “for good” since he was not changing his ways.

In tears, Brenda said she hoped he doesn’t kill himself and pleaded with him if he is out there to turn himself in.  She said that she knew that what he did was wrong but God is the main judge.

“God said thou shall not kill,” she said.

According to reports, Williamson had used a kitchen knife to slit Edwards’ throat just after midnight on Friday, turning the knife on her daughter and a niece when she fled bleeding.

Edwards collapsed and died on a neighbour’s front stairs after signalling to the woman and her husband what was wrong and motioning for some water, which she drank.

The neighbour, Oluremi Anthony told this newspaper that around 12:15 am she was jerked out of her sleep by loud pounding on her door and looked out to see the blood-soaked Edwards on the landing clutching her throat.

Unable to speak, Edwards pointed in the direction of her home and removed her hand briefly to show the gaping wound.

Edwards, a vendor at the New Amsterdam stelling, was last seen at an Indian Arrival Day celebration at the Blairmont Centre Ground on Thursday night.

Reports are that Edwards was walking around the Blairmont Ground selling chips while her former partner was also there selling drinks, separately. A woman told this newspaper that Edwards, who appeared to be in her usual jolly mood, left to go home when the show ended after 11 pm.

There are reports that the woman entered the home with Williamson, and after some time they started arguing.

Police from the Criminal Investigation Department in Georgetown along with a tracker dog had gone to the scene on Friday and combed the area for the man.

The dog led the officers into a yard at the back of the house where the suspect apparently escaped through after jumping the fence, then to a bushy trail in the backlands.

However their efforts to capture the suspect were unsuccessful.

Edwards had been occupying the apartment at Ithaca with Kerry and Samantha as well as two smaller children she had borne for Williamson. Six-year-old Gladstone Jnr and five-year-old Althea Williamson were unharmed.

Edwards is the latest in a growing list of women who have been killed or maimed recently.

On May 2, the body of 20-year-old Naiomi Singh of Morashee, East Bank Essequibo was discovered in a drain at the back of her residence with her throat slit. Rudolph Williams, a labourer who had worked for her father has since been charged with her murder.

On April 23, 22-year-old Yolanda Brummell of Lot 1210 ‘B’ Field Sophia was rushed to the Georgetown hospital at approximately 4:15 am, bleeding profusely from a wound to her abdomen. She had been attacked by her reputed husband who then escaped.

On April 20, Maria Ward, 21, of North Haslington, East Coast Demerara, was admitted to the Georgetown hospital with a slash to her throat and three stab wounds to her body, including one to her left temple. She had been attacked by the father of her son who accused her of being unfaithful.

On March 31, 39-year-old Pamela Mangru was stabbed her three times in the throat and slashed about her body. She subsequently bled to death. Her alleged attacker and reputed husband Devon Limerick has since been charged with her murder.

On March 12 , Savitrie Arjune of Lot 382 Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, a mother of two and an employee of Roti Plus was stabbed to death by her former reputed husband. He escaped and is still to be apprehended.

In February, 38-year-old Deborah Allen of Port Kaituma, North West District, was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital after being chopped by her reputed husband.

Her teenaged daughter was chopped across the face and spent several days in the Georgetown Hospital.

The two had an argument over a party they had gone to shortly before the incident.

The attacker subsequently turned himself over to the police.

That same day, two women, Nekecia Rouse, 25, and her sister-in-law, 18-year-old Alexis ‘Keisha’ George were slashed to death in New Amsterdam. Their attacker is still being sought.