-driver attempted to spray over car
The four men held in the murder of Lusignan cosmetologist Ashmini Harriram are expected to be charged as soon as Monday, following the positive identification of the shooter by a relative of the dead woman.
According to reports, one of the men incriminated in the murder is a relative of the slain beautician.
A police source told Stabroek News that one of Harriram’s relatives had been harassed by the alleged killer in a Chinese restaurant, mere hours before the shooting on July 10. According to reports, the shooter arrived at the restaurant in the very burgundy car later spotted in Lusignan.
This newspaper also learnt that the driver of the car was apprehended following a tip-off by a mechanic’s wife in Berbice. According to the source, the driver became fearful following the shooting and decided to take the vehicle to Berbice to be sprayed.
Apparently familiar with the shooting and the colour of the vehicle involved, the mechanic to whom he took the car, questioned the reason behind having the vehicle repainted since there were no signs of damage. The man’s shady behaviour also captured the attention of the mechanic’s wife, especially since documents usually affixed to the windshield were missing. The woman called the police who subsequently arrested the driver. He was released due to insufficient evidence, only to be rearrested earlier this week.
The vehicle, a heavily tinted Carina 212 with licence plate PRR 8370, is currently impounded by the police.
According to information reaching this newspaper, the driver eventually led the police to the shooter.
Motive
Meanwhile, Harriram’s family is maintaining that the relative who was held had nothing to do with the murder. They also refuted claims that drugs might be the motive behind the young woman’s death.
In an interview with Stabroek News a relative said that the arrested family member is completely innocent and has no known connections with any of the other suspects.
“He is a very good person – a very hardworking person – and I don’t think he is involved in this. Why would he do such a thing to a relative? What benefit would he get by killing Ashmini? He was like a father. He was like a big brother, because she was fatherless,” the relative said.
She added that the man’s family, and the Harriram household as well, were shocked at his arrest.
She went on to dispute speculation that Harriram had been involved in anything to do with drugs, including a reported drug bust.
“She may have come from a poor home but she’s not a child that would get involved with certain things and stuff like that…What we read in the papers is that she had some connection with something to do with drugs. I can swear that it’s not true.”
Harriram’s mother is reportedly traumatized by the experience and was unable to speak with this newspaper. The cousin who had been with Harriram during her death is also traumatized and was not in a position to partake in an identification parade.
Relatives believe that Harriram was indeed targeted by the shooter, since the cousin had managed to escape the ordeal completely unscathed. “Her cousin was there; why Ashmini? Why her? Both of them were there,” one relative questioned.
The relative is also frustrated with the lack of communication from the police, revealing that most of the updates received have come from the media. This, she said, has led to much speculation with no solid information.
“Everybody just make assumptions; it could be tha’ and it could be tha’…but nobody knows what’s the real reason,” she pointed out. She went on, “The mother just wants justice; even though her daughter died and gone she still wants to know who killed her and why they did that…when you ready to talk to them [the police] apparently they don’t want to disclose anything because the investigation is going on. I can’t vex with them, they’re doing their duties.”
However, she said, Harriram’s family still needs to be updated on what exactly had transpired. “Just give us a little hope, especially the mother. She’s very, very much furious and wants to know who did this and the police are not coming; they’re not telling her anything that will give her hope.”
According to reports, Harriram and her cousin were heading east along the Lusignan Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara on July 10 when a burgundy coloured car passed and stopped ahead of them. Harriram, it was said, was hurrying home to tend to a client’s hair when a man exited the car and grabbed her $15,000 cellphone before shooting her in the head. The shooting occurred around 11:15 am, a short distance from her home. The shooter subsequently escaped in the car he had exited.
