Cindy Moses and Leeroy King, the couple whose burnt remains were found in their Eccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD) home on Tuesday night, died as a result of smoke inhalation and burn injuries, autopsies revealed yesterday.
Police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Royston Andries-Junor confirmed the findings of the autopsies, which were performed yesterday morning by Government Pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh.
He added that the couple were both alive when the fire started.
The police had said that King, 34, a barber, is believed to have set the house on fire after he and his partner, Moses, got into a heated argument shortly after he returned home on Tuesday night.
According to the police, investigations revealed that around 7.15 pm, King returned home and Moses, 35, a businesswoman was observed opening the gate for him.
“Shortly after, one of the neighbours claimed that she heard screams coming from the said house and what appeared to be a loud explosion before seeing fire emanating from the upper flat of the north eastern side of the said building,” the police explained.
The police and the Guyana Fire Service were both summoned. The fire was extinguished after which the bodies of the couple were discovered in a bedroom of the house.
Their bodies were burnt beyond recognition, the police had said.
Stabroek News was informed that the couple met about two years ago and were living together for over a year. Relatives said that it was only last Saturday that they moved into the house, situated at Lot 1139 Block EE, Eccles, EBD, which is owned by Moses.
They noted that prior to this, the couple rented an apartment in Diamond, EBD. The couple only occupied a room of the house since construction works were still to be completed.
Relatives of the couple said that they would often argue but they were unaware of any fights. They said King was a very jovial person while Moses was described as a very private person.
“They never use to mix and mingle much with the family but the little that we know is that we never knew that they use to fight and thing. We know that they use to have arguments and so but I never know about any fights or so between them,” a cousin of Cindy, Christopher (only name given) had said.
Christopher noted that Cindy was a person who “kept a lot of things to herself”. He said he last saw King hours before the incident and he didn’t show any sign that he was bothered or angry.
