Three persons including a teenage boy have been detained in connection with last Tuesday’s murder of Brazilian national Joao De Souza.
De Souza, 57, died hours after he was attacked by a man armed with a piece of wood, during a robbery at 5 Miles, Arakaka, North West District.
Stabroek News has been reliably informed that the teenager was transported to Port Kaituma late yesterday afternoon while the other two suspects, one of whom is a businessman, remain in detention at Arakaka.
Police had said in a press release that around 20:30 hours De Souza was struck about the body by the perpetrator who escaped. De Souza, police said, was subsequently taken to the Arakaka Health Centre and referred to the Georgetown Hospital.
He died while awaiting transportation at Matthews Ridge Airstrip at about 11:40 hours that same day.
The man’s reputed wife Doris Williams told this newspaper from the North West yesterday that she has heard nothing from the police on the investigation.
She said too that she strongly believes that her husband was the victim of a robbery as he had no problems with anyone.
Williams explained that the attack occurred while De Souza with whom she has a three-year-old child was returning to their mining camp with her 14-year-old nephew after a visit to a nearby shop. She said that she became aware that something was wrong when the nephew came running towards the camp screaming.
The nephew told this newspaper that when they left the shop, a man started following them. He said that when they were about two minutes away from the camp he felt an object hit his foot and when he shone the torchlight he saw a man with his head down. He said that the man had a stone in his hand. It was then that the man started to hit De Souza in his head, the teen related, and that he ran to their camp for help. He said that when he and Williams returned they found De Souza lying motionless on the ground. The attacker by then had fled.
Williams told this newspaper that she is unsure if the attacker stole anything from De Souza.
A post mortem examination will be performed on his remains tomorrow.
