Gavin Graham, the suspect in the arson of a Sophia home that claimed two lives, was charged with murder yesterday.
Graham, 48, found himself before Magistrate Zamilla Ally at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court where he was accused of killing Towobola Abrams, 38, and her stepfather Clifford Sampson, 68, at Lot 6036 ‘C’ Field, Sophia.
Graham was not required to plead and he was remanded to prison until the next hearing on February 26.
Prior to his arraignment, he had been a patient in the Male Surgical Ward of the Georgetown Hospital after he suffered minor burns about his arms and other parts of his body.
The man allegedly set fire to the home after he was rejected by his former partner, Abrams, who eventually succumbed to injuries she suffered in the fire. Abrams and her boyfriend, Shawn White, had both suffered burns in the fire and were hospitalised.
Other persons also lived in the house, including small children.
The two-storey house was burnt to the ground minutes after neighbours said they saw the man with a bottle in his hand, lurking in the yard.
Abrams’ sister, Candacey Buelow said the alleged arsonist had threatened to set the house on fire when Abrams ended the five-year relationship they shared.
“He always use to say that he will burn down the house,” Buelow said.
Graham had fled to his mother’s home in Linden where he confessed to setting the house on fire. After listening to the story, his mother took him to a Linden Police Station, where he was arrested.
