Bartica grocer Charles Garraway died on Sunday, two days after he was doused with gasoline and then set alight by a group of men in the Oku Backdam, located near the Cuyuni River, in Region 7.
According to a release from the police, an investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the death of Garraway, who succumbed to burns to his body at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH). The man allegedly responsible for the attack was also burnt and he is a patient under guard in hospital.
Investigations revealed that on Friday last, Garraway and a miner had an argument at Oku Backdam, over payment for groceries bought from the businessman’s shop, police said. During the argument, it is alleged that the miner threw gasoline on Garraway and lit him afire. The suspect also suffered burns about his body. Both men were hospitalised at the public hospital, where Garraway succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.
The suspect, being guarded by police at the Burn Care Unit of the GPH, gave his name as Sheldon Grant, a 28-year-old miner. He suffered burns to 90% of his body, including his face, torso and legs and he was in excruciating pain when this newspaper visited the unit yesterday. His condition was said to be serious.
He told this newspaper that he was attacked by Garraway at a mining camp in the Oku Backdam area. As he lay chained to the bed by his foot, a relative asked if he would be charged for his involvement in the matter but the man remained silent.
A post-mortem examination is expected to be performed later this week following which Garraway will be buried in the city.
The deceased’s mother, Barbara Garraway, told Stabroek News yesterday that she was informed that her son was badly burnt and that he was on the way to the GPH from Bartica on Friday evening. She said when she arrived at the hospital a few hours later her son was being taken into the medical institution from an ambulance. She said the man sustained burns to 95% of his body and according to her.
Garraway, however, was able to relate to her the events that led to the attack. He said he was ambushed by three men while he entered his shop on Friday afternoon at Oku Backdam. “He seh when he go in the shop he see a shadow,” the dead man’s mother noted.
Garraway had moments earlier collected gold and money, which were later taken from him during the attack. The woman added that he said as he fought the men, one of them soaked a cloth tied to the end of a stick and set it alight while another doused him with gasoline. She said he related that “they beat he bad,” but as one of the men attempted to place the lit cloth on him, he grabbed him and the two “roll up in fire.” She said others in the area ran to her son’s assistance while the assailants assisted their colleague and later escaped. The injured suspect was later taken out of the area on an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) while Garraway sought assistance from some Brazilians nearby.
He was taken to the Itabali Landing wrapped in several bed sheets and later hurried over to Bartica, where he was immediately admitted to the hospital there. He was later transferred to the GPH while the matter was reported to the police.
‘Threats’
The deceased’s wife Merithea Garraway told Stabroek News yesterday that her husband had been encountering problems with persons in the mining area where the couple operated a grocery shop. They sold beverages, clothing and food. Garraway had been selling goods in the area for some 15 years.
Recounting the events leading to the man’s death, she said on Friday morning her husband had an altercation with a young man in the area over a DVD, which the man borrowed from her husband. She said the two went their separate ways but she noted that one of the man’s friends threatened to kill her and her husband during the argument.
The distressed woman said that later in the day, around 3 pm, she left the shop for an area known as ‘Sandhill’ to make a call to relatives at Bartica, since the shop was in need of supplies. She said as she returned home at sunset, someone related to her that her husband was burnt about the body. She said that as she approached her home, another man in the area threatened her and it was at that moment that she thought something was amiss. She said a Brazilian man, who operates a business nearby, related that her husband was badly burnt and that he was ferried out of the Oku Backdam area to seek medical attention at Bartica. She said she could not imagine the extent of her husband’s injuries but noted that the man’s belt, and piece of his trousers lay in a bucket of gasoline outside the shop while what appeared to be parts of his skin, lay on the ground.
She said after spending the night in fear, she travelled out of the area on Saturday. According to her, one of the men who “attack meh husband been pon the same truck but when he see me he run in the bushes.” She described her husband, with whom she has two children, as a caring and loving person who always tried to assist anyone. Garraway is also survived by three children from a previous relationship.
The woman said that she later lodged a statement at the Bartica Police station and she was asked to visit the E&F Division of the Guyana Police Force at Eve Leary yesterday and she lodged another report.
The widow stated that she will not be returning to operate the shop in the area for fear of her life, and she noted that there is great need for a police presence in the mining areas as many crimes are committed but go unnoticed.
