Tony Sulker, the 29-year-old police sergeant who became a prime suspect in the murder of lawyer Richard Layne after CCTV footage was viewed yesterday, died last night at the GPHC after ingesting poison.
On Wednesday, Layne was found dead in a locked car with a wound to his neck. Sulker, who lived with Layne in Century Palm Gardens, D’Urban Backlands had initially told police that he had found the body at around 10 pm. CCTV footage viewed by the police yesterday however contradicted this and it was after further questioning by the police that Sulker ingested poison and was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) where he died last night.
A post-mortem examination conducted yesterday on the body of Layne revealed that he died from a stab wound to the neck. Dr Nehaul Singh, performed a post-mortem examination with dissection on the body of Layne, 35. The body was identified by a cousin, Michael Harding, and brother, Ryan Layne.
Dr Singh stated the cause of death to be a stab wound to the neck going from left to right with a sharp instrument. It was at least 17 cm in length.
On Thursday, the Guyana Police Force had reported that they were investigating the murder of the attorney. The killing occurred between 9.30 pm and 10.13 pm at the same address.
According to a police statement issued last evening, Sulker was interviewed by detectives on Thursday, and in a written statement, he disclosed that he met Layne about four years ago at a function at the Marriott Hotel in Georgetown. After they became friends, Layne asked him to move in with him and he started living at the address about four years ago. Sulker said he and Layne never had any problems. Sulker went on to say that on the night in question, he was at home with Layne when Layne’s cousin, Michael Harding, visited the house and shortly after, Harding and Layne left.
Sulker told police that he went into his room at about 20:00 hours and later fell asleep. At about 22:00 hours, he awoke to use the toilet and then went to the kitchen for a drink of water. While in the kitchen, he looked through the window and observed Layne’s car on the bridge with Layne sitting in the driver’s seat in a slumped position.
Sulker said that he immediately ran downstairs to investigate and saw what appeared to be blood on Layne’s neck and skin. He said he then called the man’s mother and related to her what he saw, and she asked him to pick her up at Bistro Bar on Middle Street, which he did.
Access
Further, on returning to the house, they tried gaining access to the car but all the doors were locked. Layne’s mother then instructed him to break the driver-side window, and he did so using a hammer. After opening the door, they observed what appeared to be a wound to the right side of Layne’s neck and he was motionless. They then summoned the ambulance and the police, the release added.
Police say Sulker denied that he was in the company of the deceased on the night in question and also denied going out with the deceased or having any involvement in the murder.
Further investigations were conducted, and detectives on Friday canvassed Sheriff Street for additional CCTV footage. On viewing the CCTV footage obtained from a building on Sheriff Street in the vicinity of Kamboat Chinese Restaurant, it was observed that at about 21.31 hours on the night of August 7, Layne’s car, a burgundy Jaguar, with number plate PYY 2850, was observed driving north on Sheriff Street and stopping in the vicinity of the Kamboat Restaurant.
It was then observed that a male, suspected to be Sulker, dressed in black three-quarter pants and a green t-shirt, exited the Jaguar’s rear passenger seat and went into Kamboat Restaurant.
A short while after, it was observed that Sulker exited Kamboat with a white plastic bag and entered the car’s front passenger seat.
The Jaguar car then proceeded to turn west onto John Street. There were no more cameras in that area to see where the car turned. However, at 21:39 hours, it was observed that the car drove south along Mandela Avenue and then turned east into Hadfield Street, heading towards D’Urban Backlands.
No other cameras were in the area to verify the time the victim arrived at his residence.
Contacted
At about 13:00 hours yesterday, the mother of the deceased, 66-year-old Penelope Lewis, contacted the police and reported that she was about to leave her deceased son’s residence at Century Palm Gardens when she observed Sulker drive into the yard at a fast rate and park his car in the garage.
Lewis told police that she immediately sensed something was wrong and decided to turn back. When she got to the house, she observed Sulker lying at the door on the bottom flat of the house with what appeared to be vomit and a green substance about his body. She immediately summoned an ambulance and a unit from the Central Fire Service responded. Sulker was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital and admitted in critical condition.
Sulker’s car, a Toyota Allion, licence plate number PAC 7428, was seen parked in the yard. The vehicle was processed, and two white bottles with a green liquid substance were discovered inside.
The house was searched and the clothing Sulker was seen wearing on the CCTV footage obtained on the night in question was found in a washing machine on the bottom flat of the house, already washed and dried.
Other dirty clothing was seen in his clothes basket. The items were all placed in separate evidence bags, sealed, and taken to the crime laboratory for forensic examination. DNA samples were also taken from Sulker.
In a statement on Thursday, the police had said that Harding had said that at about 7 pm on Wednesday he went to Layne’s home and they were hanging out, and at the time Sulker was at home.
He said while there, Layne had an urge for Starbucks coffee, and as a result, they both left in Harding’s motor car, PHH 4943, for Starbucks at MovieTowne, East Coast Demerara.
After purchasing the coffee, they returned to the house at about 7.15 pm. At that time, Sulker was asleep in his room on the upper flat of the house. However, it would appear that the time of return given by the police is incorrect because if the cousin had visited Layne at 7 pm they could not have returned at 7.15 pm from MovieTowne
According to the police, Harding said he and his cousin hung out on the veranda until about 8.17 pm when he left for his residence in Eccles. Prior to leaving, he said he made sure that Layne locked both gates to the house and yard, which have automatic locks. He also observed Layne’s car, the Jaguar, parked in the garage.
There was no account in the police report for what transpired between 8.17 pm and 10 pm on Wednesday. That was until the CCTV footage was viewed yesterday
