The mother of the two boys who died in a fire at Moblissa on Sunday morning had left them alone while she went in search of kuru fruit to sell.
The fire occurred around 7:30 am. The single parent was taken into custody by the police.
Dead are three-year-old Debron Skellekie and 6-year-old Demario Skellekie. They lived with their mother in a small flat house.
According to a report from the Guyana Police Force, 38-year-old Latoya Skellekie, the mother of the two children said that she had left them home asleep with the doors and windows open, while she went to get kuru to sell. She would usually sell fruits at a stand in front of her home on the highway.
It was further stated that while she was walking back home, a man riding a motorcycle told her that her house was on fire. She saw smoke escaping the house as she approached. By the time she arrived the house was completely engulfed in flames.
Skellekie attempted to call for her children but fell unconscious at the scene. Upon regaining consciousness she made a report at the Bamia Outpost and was later referred to Timehri.
Stabroek News spoke with Winston Apple, a neighbour in the area who recalled seeing Latoya tirelessly working to support her family by selling. He would sometimes oversee the smaller child whenever she had to run errands. However, on the day of the incident he stated that he was at the back of his yard attending to his fruit trees.
“Most times, when I’m looking after my plants I does play my music and I don’t really hear what going on, but that day I look out and I saw the top of the house did already gone, by time I reach out there the whole house did already burn up”, he said.
When this newspaper visited the area yesterday, two burnt kerosene stoves, a generator, a weeding machine and other items were seen lying at the scene.
The origin of the fire is currently unknown and investigations are being carried out by the Fire Prevention Department.
The remains of the children were found in the southern side of the building. The bodies were taken to the Memorial Gardens where DNA’s samples will be taken for identification purposes.
