A farmer is currently in police custody, being questioned on the death of the West Coast Berbice pensioner who died on Sunday, after being discovered alight in her backyard.
The body of Bhagwandai Deonarine, also known as ‘Deeda’, 69, of Plantation Hope, West Coast Berbice, was discovered on fire in her backyard on Sunday around 8 pm. A large portion of Deonarine’s yard was also discovered destroyed by the fire.
In a press statement issued early yesterday, the police had indicated that two men were brought in for questioning. Commander of B Division, Paul Langevine, confirmed that one suspect was still in custody as of yesterday afternoon.
The detained man has been identified as a livestock and cattle farmer, of Plantation Rising Sun, West Coast Berbice. Reports suggest that the man would allow his cattle to graze on the deceased woman’s estate land.
According to a police source, the suspect has since told investigators that it has been a week since he last grazed his animals on the deceased’s land. However, residents have denied this, as they claimed that the man was last seen at the estate around 2 pm on Sunday.
One resident stated that he found it odd that on Sunday the suspect quickly collected some of his cattle and left the area.
Sources close to the woman explained that the suspect, who is said to be in his 50s, would often visit her home. After his wife had reportedly asked him to leave his house, he had asked Deonarine to reside in the lower flat of her house.
For the last week, he was assisting in building a tank trestle for Deonarine, while she decided whether to rent him the lower flat. The pieces of wood which were left over from the construction were used to set the woman alight, sources say.
One cattle farmer yesterday told Stabroek News that she had noticed smoke coming from Deonarine’s backyard around 11 am on Sunday but did not give it much thought.
Deonarine’s niece, who would spend the evenings with her since she lived alone, yesterday explained that on Sunday, after arriving and discovering that she was not answering her calls, immediately phoned the police. “We search the house for her and we couldn’t find her and when we come down we see smoke at the back and they decide to go and check,” she related.
Nearing the area in the backyard where the body was located, she recalled, “… the body burnt, the head could identify and the shoulder but beyond her you can’t see anything”.
It is suspected that wood, coconut shells and branches were used to start the fire, since such burnt items were noticed close to the body at the scene.
Meanwhile, Deonarine’s younger sister, who resides at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara, explained that over two years ago, a man had broken into the woman’s house and hit her with a rolling pin, breaking four of her teeth and resulting in her having to undergo an emergency operation for a blood clot in her brain. Deonarine’s sister said that the matter reached the courts and the assailant served jail time.
Stabroek News was told that Deonarine had positively identified the accused during the investigation, as well as had given evidence in court.
The woman further explained that Deonarine resided with her while recovering from the injuries but after she had fully recovered, she requested to return to the house at Plantation Hope, where she had lived with her late husband for many years.
While residents in the area had claimed that the accused in that matter was released about a week ago, relatives yesterday noted that the woman had told them that the man was released about several months ago from prison.
“That’s it, we na know who did it, we na know why this happen to my sister and she so religious, she so nice to everybody. This is the second incident and everything come to an end like this, it is so sad”, the sister said.
Sources confirmed that the man in custody is not the same man who was jailed for robbing and assaulting the woman several years ago.
Commander Langevine yesterday afternoon said there were no major breakthroughs in the case, however, the investigation is continuing.
Deonarine’s remains are presently at the Bailey’s Funeral Parlour, located on the West Coast of Berbice.
