Almost four years after the brutal murders of Anna Catherina businesswoman Jennifer Persaud and her two young sons, police have arrested a man who has reportedly confessed to the crime after his wife, tired of the constant abuse she suffered at his hands, tipped off the police.
Police sources told Stabroek News yesterday that the man detailed how he committed the gruesome crime in September 2012 after he had gone to rob the shop that Persaud operated. Suspicion had initially fallen on Persaud’s partner and the man currently in custody had not been considered a suspect. However, his wife, who kept his secret for years, told the police to question him about the murders after she got tired of his constant abuse.
The man is likely to be charged soon.
In September 2012, Persaud, 41, the owner of a liquor store and bar at Anna Catherina and her sons Afridi Bacchus, 6, and Jadon Persaud who was 18 months old, were murdered and their bodies were found at her Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara home. The trio’s throats had been slit and they also suffered stab wounds. No one has ever been charged and the police had been heavily criticised for their sloppy investigation into the murders including by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Yesterday, police sources said the suspect’s wife went to the police station to file a domestic violence report against her husband. Stabroek News was told that after making the report, the woman told the law enforcement officials that they should also question her husband about the murder of Persaud and her sons.
Acting on the tip provided, investigators arrested the alleged killer. Under interrogation, he confessed to committing the triple murder, sources close to the investigation said.
The man told investigators that he would normally be at Persaud’s shop. He said on the night of the murders, he went with the intention of robbing the liquor store. He explained to the ranks that he gained access to the building by pushing his hand through an open space to open a door and entered the business place.
The man told investigators that he went upstairs after he did not collect a substantial amount of cash from the shop. He related that once upstairs, he collected a bag and Persaud woke up and saw him in the house. It was at this point, he told investigators, he stabbed the woman.
The man said Persaud’s elder son woke up and saw his face and he decided to slit his throat. Bacchus screamed when his throat was slit and the baby woke up, the source said. According to the source, after the alleged killer noticed that the baby was awake, he killed the 18-month-old.
The source related that the suspect further told investigators that he went home and his body was bloodied and he related to his wife what he did. The wife kept the secret but on Saturday decided to tip off the police as a result of the constant domestic abuse she suffered at his hands.
Persaud’s reputed husband had initially been arrested and questioned but police never had any substantial evidence to charge him. The reputed husband and Persaud were known to have domestic disputes.
Police had worked on the theory that it was not a case of robbery. It was explained that more than $40,000 was found by the woman’s bed head along with a quantity of jewellery. The police had worked on the theory that the killing could have been a crime of passion judging by the number of stabs inflicted on Persaud.
