Prisoner Charles Chapman, called ‘Frenchie,’ who was last week charged with the 2009 killing of his former lover following his recent capture, died in a city hospital on Thursday night.
Stabroek News was reliably informed that Chapman, 61, died in the Georgetown Public Hospital around 11pm on Thursday. He was admitted on Wednesday after complaining of feeling unwell.
While the cause of Chapman’s death is still unknown, Deputy Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels said, “From all indication he died from whatever was affecting him prior to him coming into the prison.”
A post-mortem examination on Chapman’s body is expected to be performed on Monday.
Chapman, who was a former soldier and seaman, had managed to elude the police for almost eight years before he was arrested at the Central Police Station, New Amsterdam, Berbice, on January 6th, in relation to a wounding charge.
Chapman was subsequently arraigned on January 11th on the charge that on March 12th, 2009, he murdered Savitri Arjune. He was remanded to prison.
After the murder of Arjune, Chapman had fled to Suriname and only returned to Guyana three years ago.
Arjune, a mother of two of Lot 382 Herstelling, East Bank Demerara (EBD), who was an employee at Roti Plus, was allegedly stabbed to death by Chapman, minutes after she left home for work.
Arjune was standing near the EBD Public Road when she was confronted by Chapman and stabbed at least three times; one of the wounds was to the heart.
Chapman had earlier parked his minibus on the road, telling the conductor that he would be back. He then walked into the street where Arjune was. The conductor later saw him returning to the vehicle with a bloody knife in his hand. But when he tried to question him, the man attempted to attack the conductor, who ran away and informed the police. The bus was later found abandoned near the Demerara Harbour Bridge.
Months before her death, Arjune had made a firm decision not to return to the home that she had shared with Chapman. However, this was met with threats to her life and her children. Several days after she moved, she had a knife pulled on her and this resulted in her sustaining a small cut to her abdomen. The two had shared a very abusive relationship.
