Police sources yesterday confirmed that several persons including cattle and rice farmers in Region Five are being questioned in relation to the murder of a West Coast Berbice labourer whose body was discovered with multiple chop wounds in the backlands.
The incident which resulted in the death of Odit Persaud Thom, a 45-year-old labourer of Number 5 Village, West Coast Berbice, is suspected to have happened between 08:00hrs on March 2nd and 12:30 on March 4th, 2024 at No. 41 backlands.
Stabroek News previously reported that Thom took care of cattle in the backdam for several persons and was staying at a camp located at Seafield Backdam, WCB, where the animals are kept.
However, the cattle under his care were impounded at Weldaad Police Station on March 3rd, 2024 by a rice farmer from Foulis, WCB.
After being informed of this, the owners of the cattle then launched a search for Thom and eventually found his motionless body floating in a trench at No. 41 backdam which separates the rice fields from the savanna on Monday.
According to the police, the body was found in a state of decomposition. It was observed that the deceased sustained chop wounds to both arms and the head.
The deceased also had a haversack on his back which contained toiletries and his ID card.
The body was clad in a black jeans and black jersey. The surrounding area was canvassed and a pair of Adidas slippers and a black cap were found on the dam in the vicinity where the body was floating, police said yesterday.
Commander of Region Five, Kurleigh Simon when contacted for an update yesterday said, that the “investigation is ongoing, several persons have been contacted and interviewed.”
However, according to sources close to the investigation, several cattle and rice farmers were being questioned as of yesterday afternoon.
