A pensioner, believed to have been strangled with her mosquito net, was found dead on Thursday evening at her Bourda Street, Georgetown house.
Dead is Marva Oudkerk, 67, of Lot 241 Bourda Street, Georgetown, who is believed to have been killed sometime between 4.30 on Wednesday and 6.30 pm on Thursday.
At the time of the discovery, police spokesman Jairam Ramlakhan said, Oudkerk’s body was on a bed with a mosquito net “tightly wrapped” around her neck.
A police investigation has since been launched. However, up to yesterday afternoon, no arrest was made as yet.
Stabroek News was told that Oudkerk lived alone at the house, which belonged to women and gender equality activist Magda Pollard, who died in May.
Relatives told Stabroek News that Oudkerk lived with Pollard and took care of her for over 20 years.
Following Pollard’s death, Oudkerk was reportedly told that she could remain at the house for as long as she wanted.
“My aunt lived here so I guess after she passed I would still continue to take care of Marva….she lived in the house and she was going to live her as long as she want,” Gigi Pollard, Magda’s niece, said.
The discovery was made by Gigi and Marva’s only offspring, Makada Oudkerk. Makada was too distraught to speak yesterday. “This is very hard on me…I don’t know how to cope…all I need is justice for my mother,” she cried.
It is suspected that the bandit/s gained entry into the heavily grilled house by removing two floorboards from the kitchen area.
The house, including Oudkerk’s bedroom, was ransacked and valuables were said to be missing.
From all indications, relatives said, Oudkerk may have resisted her attacker/s and she was strangled as a result.
Gigi related to Stabroek News that Makada contacted her on Thursday afternoon after calls for her mother went unanswered.
Gigi explained that Makada would check on her mother on a daily basis.
She said Makada told her that she last spoke to Marva on Wednesday evening.
She said she visited around mid-day on Thursday to bring her mother lunch but the house was tightly secured and she assumed that she went out. As a result, she left and later returned.
“When her daughter (Makada) came yesterday (Thursday) midday to bring lunch for her like normal and she called and didn’t get any answer, so she thought she probably went to pick up pension or something and so she left and she come back about 5’O clock. By then she knew something had to be wrong because she didn’t speak to her mother all day,” Gigi explained.
“…..With that she (Makada) came and found me and then we came down here, we break the place and we came in and we found that somebody had [broke in and entered] and strangled her to death,” she added.
The police were immediately summoned.
“…She died like that, trying to fend off whoever it was… soon as you see, you know,
somebody murdered her,” Gigi stated.
“I would like to know who would have done this. Justice is exactly what we want. Marva was a really good person. Marva was with Ms Pollard all her life,” she said.
Meanwhile, a neighbour, Claire Chappell, said that she would normally see Marva every morning, when she passed to go to the market.
She said while she didn’t hear any strange sounds which might have alerted her that something was amiss, she did recall the dogs were barking continuously late Wednesday evening into Thursday morning.
“Like the night (Wednesday), the morning (Thursday) the dogs were barking…..and usually I get up and I see… some dogs was on the road barking and facing deh (Marva house) but I ain’t worry come open the back door fah see….I just watch through the window. I seh maybe the dog musse barking on these dogs on the road but I don’t know dah is the same time maybe, the person/s was in there,” Chappell recalled.
She said yesterday morning she also heard Marva’s phone ringing and found it strange that she wasn’t answering.
“Is yesterday morning (Thursday morning) when I wake up I hear the phone rang… which in I usually see she every morning when she going to the market and I didn’t see her so me ain’t take nothing fah granted,” the woman noted.
She said on Thursday afternoon, she went to church and upon her return she saw a large crowd and police present at the house.
Upon enquiring, she learnt what happened. “I get a shock when I came home and I heard,” she added.
