A coal burner was discovered dead on Monday night on a bridge about one mile from his home with marks of violence to his head and neck. Four persons including his wife have since been taken into police custody.

Dead is Lambert Patrick Clarke, 58 years of Emerald Tower Road, Soesdyke/Linden Highway. Police said in a release last evening that the man was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Hospital hours after he was found on a bridge along the Emerald Tower trail with marks of violence to his head. The discovery was made around 19:30 hours.

According to police officials and residents of the area, there was a visible injury on the neck suspected to be a slash and that area along with his head was covered in blood.

This newspaper was unable to reach the man’s home which is located more than five miles off the highway due to the poor state of the trail. According to several residents, this newspaper encountered at the front section of the community, Clarke and his wife lived alone as their two children were staying with a relative somewhere in the East Bank Demerara area.

Hours before, the incident, the couple had been at a shop, about four miles from their home and later left in good spirits.

Joyce De Freitas, the mother of the shop owner recounted to Stabroek News yesterday that around noon on Monday she saw them sitting there. Shortly after, her daughter indicated that she was going to the creek to do some washing. Clarke’s wife, who De Freitas identified as Barbara said that she wanted to go and the two women left.

This newspaper understands that Barbara was intoxicated.

De Freitas recounted that Clarke left to visit a friend nearby and when he returned he questioned when his wife would be returning from  the creek.

While he was sitting at the shop, the resident said there were discussions about his bandaged foot – he was experiencing some pain in that area,  among other things.

The two women returned around 3 pm, and after consuming some cake and drink, they left.

De Freitas told this newspaper that around 8 pm she was informed of Clarke’s death. She said that according to what she was told, some neighbours were passing, when they saw the couple on the bridge-

Barbara was standing while Clarke was lying covered in blood with “ants taking over he”.

The woman said that the news came as a shock to her because the two of them left “good good”. She said that there was never any violence or argument between the couple in her presence.

According to her she would see the couple every two weeks when they would visit the shop to buy groceries.

Meanwhile another resident, Augustus George said that the couple has been living in the area for more than ten years and never once has he seen them fighting. He recalled that it was his sister who woke him out of his sleep to inform him of the murder. The couple did coal burning together, he said.

George described Clarke as an “easy going man” who liked to make lots of jokes.

Several other residents also expressed their shock over the killing and were questioning what could have sparked it.