Vanessa Francis, the Nabaclis woman who was attacked by her ex-husband last week, says she is in real danger and that the authorities appear to be dragging their feet in the search for the man.
Francis went public with her story on Thursday following the attack and the police have launched a search for the man, but she said on Saturday that enough is not being done. “This man call me house three times since I went public with this story… When my cousin asked who was on the phone when he called he told her that he is the man who gon kill Vanessa Francis,” the shaken woman related.
Francis said she will report the threat to the police; she is disappointed the authorities have not been able to track down her former reputed husband.
The man went into hiding on Wednesday night after he stabbed Francis several times in an attempt to kill her.
East Coast Commander Gavin Primo had told Stabroek News that law enforcement officers in the division are pursing Francis’s ex-husband.
He said the case is receiving the necessary attention. Primo acknowledged that Francis has reports on file and that he was also aware of the matters currently before the courts.
Questioned on whether police effectively followed-up on the reports, he said they are aware of Francis’ situation, while adding that action was taken resulting in the man being charged recently.
On Wednesday last, Francis had just entered a taxi when the man confronted her. He tried to drag her from the front seat of the car while stabbing her continuously.
The man ran and left Francis lying in the taxi after her screaming stopped. She sustained injuries to her upper body, legs and arms.
Francis said the man has been calling her landline since they separated in September last year and issuing various threats.
She hardly answers the phone when it rings, leaving relatives to take calls from blocked and unknown numbers. She recalled numerous efforts to get the number changed but according to her, “I’ve been pushed around too much”.
Francis said the man’s relatives have reached out to her and are supportive, but she is still fearful. She said nothing has changed since the attack except that he no longer hangs around her home at night.
Since the separation the man has been tormenting Francis, and she was forced to ask her employers to allow her to leave work while the place is still bright because she is afraid to walk at night. The man has also made her invest in taxis as a mode of transportation, which has put a strain on her finances. “I can’t walk at all.
If I do, my family has to be there with me, but most times I travel in a taxi because he is always around,” she said.
Francis said the relationship ended last September, when the man beat her severely and took away her gold jewellery. She decided to call it quits and has been living in fear ever since because he keeps calling her at home and showing up at night.
In October last year, he broke into the home and was lying in wait for her, but another person who was in the home at the time scared him off.
Francis said that he visited her home in December with a cutlass in hand and said he was going to kill her.
She reported the matter and the police went to his home and detained him. But he was subsequently re-leased.
