Eighty-two-year-old Leroy Peters, the father of reporter Leroy Smith, died at a city hospital yesterday, two weeks after he was allegedly beaten by bandit/s who invaded his Ann’s Grove, East Coast Demerara home.
Stabroek News understands that Peters, also known as John Wayne, was hospitalised in a critical conditon at a private hospital following the incident which occurred sometime between September 10th and 12th.
He was later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he succumbed yesterday while receiving medical attention.
Smith told Stabroek News last evening that his father was last seen alive on September 10th.
He said that Peters sustained massive head injuries during the attack including a fractured skull and bleeding in the brain.
He was discovered lying in a pool of blood on the afternoon of September 12th by his 10-year-old son and villagers.
At the time of the discovery, the house was ransacked.
“Ironically, while I was making one of my routine unannounced visits to his home Thursday to check on him as I usually do, I saw crowds of persons at his house and then is when I became aware that something was wrong. He was reportedly discovered five minutes before my arrival,” Smith had said in a post on Facebook.
A police investigation has since been launched. Stabroek News understands that four persons were initially detained by the police but they were subsequently released.
A fifth individual was arrested yesterday as the probe continues.
