Almost on the eve of International Women’s Day a 26-year-old woman died yesterday morning after she was brutally stabbed by her common-law husband, who survived despite turning the knife on himself as well as consuming a poisonous substance and has been hospitalised under police guard.
Dead is Aneeza Ishmael, a housewife of Hope Estate, East Coast Demerara.
According to a police press release, Ishmael lived with Ricardo Kattow, a fisherman, but they had ongoing domestic issues. He would accuse her of being unfaithful.
On Friday last, Ishmael left the home and went to her friend’s house at Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, where she stayed for a few days. Around 10:00 hrs on Monday, she returned to Hope Estate in the company of her 21-year-old sister, to collect her belongings. While there, she was confronted by Kattow, who asked her not to leave, the release said.
When she insisted that she was only there to collect her clothing, the man pulled a knife from the waist of his pants and attacked her. The police said Ishmael’s sister pushed her away and told her to run, which she did. However, Kattow gave chase and caught her in the yard. There, he stabbed her to the neck, face and hands causing her to fall to the ground. He then attacked the sister, the police said, but she fought him off, receiving a wound to her thumb in the process.
Kattow then turned the knife on himself, inflicting several wounds about his body before consuming a substance in a bottle. He, too, fell to the ground.
Neighbours summoned the police.
Both Kattow and Ishmael were taken to the CC Nicholson Hospital at Nabaclis, East Coast Demerara, where they were admitted. Ishmael died around 12:20 hrs while receiving treatment. Kattow was then transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was admitted and remains under guard.
The police said they removed a knife and an empty bottle, suspected to have contained the substance Kattow consumed, from the scene.
Ismael’s body is at the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, awaiting a post-mortem examination. Investigations are continuing.
