Gunpowder residue was found on the hands of the husband of murdered Berbice farmer Pamela Kendall and police investigators have received information that the couple was heard quarrelling moments before the woman was fatally shot in what was originally believed to be a home invasion.
Efforts are now being made to contact an eyewitness to the quarrel.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told Stabroek News that investigators are currently seeking legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Sources close to the investigation have revealed that Deoram Sookchand is being treated as the prime suspect. He is currently being held at CID Headquarters, at Eve Leary, where he has continuously denied that he killed his wife.
Although gunpowder residue was found on the man’s hands, the source said that investigators just have circumstantial evidence.
Several persons were picked up and questioned after the killing but they were all released.
Kendall was in her house around 6.30pm two Thursdays ago when it is reported that a “bandit” approached her back door and shot her in her face. She died while being transferred to the Skeldon Public Hospital.
After being shot, Kendall ran over to her brother’s house for assistance. She called out to her nephews and then walked to the car, where she fell unconscious.
At the time of the shooting, there was a blackout in the area.
Sookchand had told Stabroek News that he was trapped in the bathroom when Kendall was shot. He explained that they couple had just gotten home and he had proceeded to the bathroom, which was about five feet away from where his wife was. The man had said that while he was in the bathroom, he heard his wife scream and then a loud explosion that he assumed to have been a gunshot. He said the assailant later fled without taking anything.
Investigators decided to detain the man after they found a number of inconsistencies in his version of events. He was arrested earlier this week.
