A man fitting the description of the suspect in the murder of HIV counsellor Seeraj Persaud was seen following him, hours before he was discovered strangled in his office.
Stabroek News was told that the man had been present at a Valentine’s Day testing exercise at the Parika Health Centre and was later seen walking behind Persaud the next day. Additionally, a man had behaved disorderly with Persaud after he received his results. It is unclear whether the man who behaved disorderly was the murder suspect.
However, according to reports, the suspect was observed walking after Persaud on February 15, as the counsellor was returning to his office from lunch. The suspect was described as a tall, well-built man of a fair complexion. From all accounts, the suspect is not from the area. This newspaper understands that persons who saw the suspect are fearful of going to the police.
When contacted yesterday, Divisional Commander Collin West said that there have been no new developments in the case but investigations are ongoing. West had previously said that the investigators were treating the incident as a robbery/murder, since several of Persaud’s possessions were discovered missing.
More than a month has passed and according to Persaud’s brother, Yugoul, he is surprised that there has been no arrest in the case. He said that shortly after the murder, the police had told him they are working on a lead but up to now, he has received no word. “We are now left to grieve… we scared you know because we ain’t know is who do this or if I is a target,” Yugoul told Stabroek News.
Yugoul, who operates a business in Parika, explained that since the incident he goes home early and locks up. He added that whenever he passes the health facility or Persaud’s home, which is a short distance from his, he remembers the incident. “The police are wuking but like it still lil slow…but we just got to hope that they find this person,” he said, before stressing that more investigations should have been done on calls made on his brother’s stolen phone the night of his death.
He explained that the police had shown him a printout, which showed that two calls were made from the instrument around 10 pm on February 15. The man stated that the murderer, or whoever had his brother’s phone, also transferred credit from the stolen phone to another. He said he sometimes calls the phone but always gets a recording that says that it is out of the serving area or has been switched off. “Every-body wants to know what took place and why but fuh now we [relatives] just got to keep we fingers cross,” he said.
Asked about a motive, the man said he is at a loss because Persaud never expressed any fears or threats to his family and friends. However, he pointed out that based on some of the things he has been hearing, robbery may not have been the motive. The method of killing is also puzzling him.
Persaud, 42, had been attached to the centre for the past three years as an HIV counsellor. On February 15, he was found around 1.50 pm crouched on the floor of his office. There was no blood and everything in the room was in order. However, his laptop, a cellular phone, and his wallet were missing. A post-mortem examination later revealed that Persaud died from manual strangulation. He also sustained blunt trauma during the incident.
Members of the staff at the centre had recounted that they did see someone enter Persaud’s office but they did not pay much attention. Later, a man exited the office, telling two women who were sitting outside “later.” Because of the nature of the sessions, the door is always kept closed. The women sat outside the door waiting on Persaud to indicate that they could go in. After a while, one of them decided to check and discovered Persaud on the floor.
