The suspect in custody for the murder of Paradise resident Dexter Stanford, who was stabbed in the eye with a metal rod, is said to be a mentally-challenged man who was frequently tormented by residents.
The suspect was arrested after his assault on Stanford, 30, called “Killer Wood,’ of Lot 28 Paradise Village, West Coast Berbice.
Police said Stanford, whom they misidentified as “Sandford,” was involved in an argument with another man at Paradise on Monday, during which he was assaulted with a metal bar. He was hospitalised until his death on Friday.
The suspect is expected to be charged on Monday.
A source told Stabroek News that the suspect does odd jobs around the Paradise community. The source added that many persons would habitually interfere with the suspect because of his disability and this would annoy him. It is, however, unclear what prompted the assault on Stanford.
Jillian Stanford was not at home when the assault occurred. However, she was informed by residents and family members in the community that her son went to a nearby shop to purchase a phone card.
Her son’s assailant, she was told, moved away from the shop and went into the owner’s yard, from where he shoved a steel rod through a gate and plunged it into Stanford’s left eye. At that point, Stanford dropped to the ground and hit his head and was bleeding profusely.
Persons who were present at the shop reportedly ran after they observed what happened. However, a good friend of Stanford’s father, went to the wounded man’s aid. Jillian said the friend collected water and methylated spirits from the shop owner and attempted to clean off the blood from his eye and rushed him to the Fort Wellington hospital.
The injured Stanford received medical attention at the hospital before he was rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital. However, his mother said when he got to hospital, doctors said they could not do anything and immediately transferred him to the Georgetown Public Hospital on Monday Night.
The grief-stricken mother explained that her son underwent a CT scan on Tuesday because he did not show any signs of consciousness since the attack. After the scan, doctors told her to prepare herself for the worst. “They said they could not have operated on him because he did not show any signs of consciousness and he was not breathing on his own,” she explained.
He remained unconscious until his death, she added.
Jillian described her son as a friendly and jovial person, who always shared a joke. “He is my hand and foot I don’t know what I would now. If I call him, one hundred times he would come to me and do what I asked him,” she said.
