A Berbice man is in police custody after he stabbed a teenaged girl to death at Rosignol, West Berbice on Saturday after she reportedly ended a relationship with him.
Dead is Sheniza Mohamed, 19, of Lot 53 Edinburgh, East Bank Berbice. The murder occurred at around 7pm on Saturday at a Chinese restaurant at Rosignol. In a statement, police said that investigations revealed that Mohamed was “involved in an argument with a man with whom she is reported to have ended a relationship and during which she was stabbed about her body.” The teenager was rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital where she later succumbed. The suspect fled and was subsequently arrested.
Sources told Stabroek News that investigators were able to apprehend the suspect at his Shieldstown home during the wee hours of yesterday morning. The suspect was identified as a cane harvester and according to police sources, during the arrest he sustained injuries about his left eye.
Stabroek News was told that Mohamed along with two friends were at the restaurant when the suspect approached the young woman. They had gone to a mall in Rosignol to pick up a cellular phone then stopped at the restaurant.
One of the friends, Mitra Sukdeo, 18, told reporters that he, his sister and Mohamed went to the Chinese Restaurant “Zang Zi” and bought food after he asked if they wanted anything to eat or drink. His sister took up the offer and while she was eating inside the restaurant, he and Mohamed were chatting outside. A few moments later, his sister called him and he went into the restaurant.
Sukdeo related that as he entered, he heard a scream and upon turning around to check, he saw Mohamed holding her stomach. The teen recalled that he rushed to Mohamed and after observing her bleeding profusely, caught a car and rushed her to the Fort Wellington Hospital. She was subsequently transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital where she succumbed. Sukdeo said that when he rushed out of the shop, he saw a man running away.
The young man told Stabroek News that he and Mohamed were just friends. When asked if Mohamed had ever uttered anything about her romantic relationship to him, he said she had told him that she had ended the relationship she was in. He said he did not ask any questions about why she ended it.
Meanwhile, at Mohamed’s home yesterday, the family was trying to find answers. Relatives told reporters that around 8pm on Saturday, they received a phone call and got the tragic news. Stabroek News understands that Mohamed left home shortly after 4:30pm to collect the cellular phone.
When asked how long Mohamed was in a relationship with the suspect, one of her sisters stated that they were never in a relationship. She explained that Mohamed had dialed a wrong telephone number once and it was from there that the suspect and her sister started to converse. It was explained further that the two had been communicating frequently. The sister said that it was at her 16th birthday last year on December 27, that they met the alleged murderer for the first time.
Mohamed leaves to mourn her parents, and seven sisters, along with other friends and family. An autopsy is expected to be done soon.
