A welder of Mocha, East Bank Demerara, who was scheduled to be charged with the rape of a teenage girl yesterday, died just hours before at a city hospital after reportedly ingesting rat poison in the lock-up at the East Ruimveldt Outpost.
The police confirmed that Stonie Henry, 47, of Lot 539 Mocha Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, succumbed at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) while receiving medical attention.
At around 6.15 am yesterday, Henry, who was arrested on Monday for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl, of Mocha Housing Scheme, in May, was detained at the East Ruimveldt lock-ups when ranks on duty noticed him vomiting.
Henry reportedly told the ranks that he was feeling unwell and as a result he was transported to the GPH, where he died around 8am.
While a post-mortem examination is slated to be done to determine the cause of his death, police said last evening that investigations carried out revealed that Henry told fellow prisoners upon questioning that he wanted to die. They also suggested that he had ingested a “Carbon” tablet.
After he began to vomit, they alerted the police on duty.
The police said Crime Scene Unit ranks found a small plastic pack within the lock-up and it was photographed and bagged as evidence to be analysed.
Additionally, Henry’s widow, in an interview with the police, said he suffered from depression and anxiety and was a patient of Dr. Bhiro Harry of the Psychiatric Department at the GPH. A letter was obtained from Dr Harry supporting her claim, police added.
