Residents of Herstelling yesterday expressed disgust over the callous treatment of a woman whose husband refused to render assistance to her as she lay dying on the street not far from her home on Sunday morning.
Dead is Urmilla Motie, 52, of Sea Dam Herstelling, East Bank Demerara (EBD). Motie had shared a small shack with her husband who was taken into custody on Sunday and released after a post-mortem examination (PME) was done yesterday. The PME results revealed that Motie died as a result of high cholesterol and heart failure.
This was confirmed by Motie’s relatives who said both she and her husband were known alcoholics. They refused to comment further.
‘A’ Division Commander Clifton Hicken, when contacted yesterday for a comment, confirmed that after the matter was reported, the man was arrested, but released after the autopsy revealed that the woman died as a result of chronic illnesses.
Hicken said that while marks of violence were evident on Motie’s body they appeared unrelated to her death, seeming to stem from previous incidents.
Residents of the area said that apart from the alcoholism, domestic violence was a huge feature of Motie’s life.
Motie was well known in the area and residents said it was customary for her to be seen lying around the area in a drunken stupor. However, she would usually get up after a while.
One neighbour told Stabroek News that on Sunday morning Motie fell, but never got up. She said Motie’s husband and his mother saw her, but refused to render any assistance. “They are so heartless, because he know that woman dead and he walk go in the house, get ready and lock up and went to work. Is I had to beg he for a sheet to cover she [Motie],” the resident recalled.
This newspaper understands that after the matter was reported to the police the man was arrested at his place on employment.
