Male victims accounted for 77 percent (all figures rounded) of the 34 lives claimed by murder during the first quarter of this year.
A man or woman was murdered every 65 hours (2.7 days) from January 1 to March 31. As at March 31, figures compiled by Stabroek News show that 26 men and 8 females were killed during this period. During the same period last year, 32 murders were recorded.
Since 2010, men continue to account for more than 75 percent of the tallied murders. Last year 111, almost 80 percent, of the victims were male and a man was murdered every 3.3 days. During the first quarter this year, a man was murdered every 3.5 days.
In March, 6 of the 9 victims were men. Euburn Inniss, miner Lawrence Martindale and security guard Solomon Burke were killed during robberies. Miner Richard Titus and McLean Benjamin were reportedly murdered after disputes. Businessman Carlos Persaud was found with gunshot wounds in the Le Repentir Cemetery and the circumstances surrounding his death are still unclear.
Najiean Rajidam, Farida Ramdeen and Neiburt Isaac-Bacon were the three females who were murdered during March. Rajidam was found dead in her South Ruimveldt home with her hands and feet bound. It is suspected that the woman was robbed but police are yet to make an arrest.
Ramdeen and Isaac-Bacon were both reportedly murdered by their partners after suffering years of abuse. Both men were arrested and have since been arraigned on murder charge. These two cases in March bring the tally of domestic violence deaths up to 7 for 2011.
During March, there were three deaths by stabbing and battering, two by shooting and one by strangulation.
At the end of February the skeletal remains of two men were discovered at 72 Miles, Issano. A post-mortem examination has since revealed that the men died from gunshot wounds.
These cases have since been listed as murders. The tally for murders in February has therefore increased from 6 to 8.
The majority of the murders which have occurred in interior locations (Police E&F Division) this year remain unsolved. The suspects in the cases of Lawrence and Titus remain on the run. The division tallied 8 murders during the first quarter this year.
However, A Division (Dora to Conversation Tree) is the police territory with the highest numbers of murders for 2011. At the end of March, there were 14 reported murders in the division. C Divison, D Division and B Division have tallied 6 murders, 5 murders and 1 murder, respectively.
