Morasi, a quiet East Bank Essequibo farming community, remains flooded with unspoken fears even after police apprehended the man suspected to have murdered a 20-year-old woman.
Naiomi Singh, a bright, well-respected woman in the small riverain village of about 60 residents, was found dead concealed beneath a thin layer of slushy mud in a drain behind her home. She was fully dressed and the only apparent injury to her body was a slit to the throat.
Police, in a press statement issued on Saturday evening, had said they are investigating “the suspected murder of Naiomi Singh” which occurred on Friday. The woman, according to the police, was reportedly home alone that day. Her father returned home and discovered her missing; a search was conducted the same evening and Naiomi’s body was discovered at approximately 9 pm. The body remains at the West Demerara Regional Hospital mortuary; a post-mortem is yet to be conducted.
Police are still not sure what might have been the motive of the man suspected to have murdered Naiomi. However, the prime suspect, was apprehended by police yesterday morning.
The man, who worked with the victim’s father up to the time of the incident, reportedly “disappeared” shortly after the young woman’s body was discovered. The man, villagers explained, had recently returned to Morasi and was living with close relatives.
He “would normally smoke up he thing,” one resident alleged. “He was often in trouble for stealing from people as well…many of us have had our fair share of trouble with him.”
But murder, they asked clearly shocked, only he and God know whether he took Naiomi’s life. Crime is not alien to Morasi, villagers explained, but murder is something that no one remembers happening in the village until now.
“Of course Morasi has its share of crime,” a respected villager admitted. “We have the odd person stealing crop and a fowl here and there…but never have we dealt with murder. The entire village feels pain at losing Naiomi but even we can’t imagine what must be happening to her family.”
Kesharie Singh lay in a hammock at her Morasi home yesterday; mere feet from the spot where her daughter’s body was found. Tears flowed periodically from the woman’s eyes as, perhaps, memories of her dead daughter surfaced.
The distressed mother explained that two years ago her husband, Mohan Singh, had a “misunderstanding” with the suspect. The suspect, Kesharie alleged, was a known “petty thief” and during 2007 had accused Mohan of telling fellow villagers that he had stolen from them.
“He showed up at our house two years ago and cuss up,” Kesharie recalled. “He threatened to burn our house down and said he would kill us.”
The matter had been reported to the Parika Police Station. Quarrels, like in all small isolated places like Morasi, would fade over time Kesharie said. The suspect had been working with her husband as a labourer at their farm up to the time of the incident. The man, Kesharie said, had been at their house late last Thursday afternoon to collect his pay. However, the woman said that Naiomi and the suspect had no problems nor would the man “trouble” her daughter in any way.
“Friday afternoon was the last time I see or talk to Naiomi,” she said. “My younger daughter, son and me left for market around 5.45 that afternoon. Mohan and a worker accompanied us to the waterfront with our load and Naiomi was left at home by herself.”
“…he heard her say no, no, no…”
Naiomi was still alive up to 6.20 pm on Friday, relatives said. At that time she was on the phone with her fiancé; this has been confirmed by police.
The 20-year-old was set to be married on 21 June, Kesharie said. Shortly before her demise, the mother related, Naiomi was talking to her intended husband. Naiomi’s fiancé was the last person to hear from her.
“He [the fiancé] said he was talking to Naiomi on the phone when she told him that somebody coming through the front,” Kesharie said. “She tell him to hold on and left to go attend to the person…he heard her say no, no, no and that was the last.”
Kesharie said her daughter’s fiancé later indicated that he’d kept the connection for about 15 minutes but Naiomi did not return to the phone. The young man, according to her, immediately tried to contact them because “he had a feeling something was wrong”.
Mohan returned home at approximately 6.45pm and found the house empty. Word of Naiomi’s disappearance was immediately spread and a search launched for the young woman.
Just over two hours later Mohan discovered his daughter’s body buried by a thin layer of slushy mud in a drain behind their home. An ill concealed body part caught Mohan’s attention and he was forced to dig his daughter out of her shallow grave. Naiomi, her mother said, was fully clothed complete with her jewellery.
The suspect, relatives reported, had been with the group periodically throughout the search. He was there when the body was found, they said, but disappeared some time between Friday night and Saturday morning.
“He did the strangest thing,” Kesharie said. “Before we found Naiomi’s body he told someone that she was dead…how did he know that? He disappeared right after that.”
Police and military ranks, Kesharie said, worked diligently and were able to locate the man yesterday morning. Morasi, the woman explained, was only accessible from the Essequibo river via “a lengthy” boat ride or a dam which could be used during the dry season and sometimes only by foot or heavy duty vehicles. The police, Kesharie stated, realized they had him cornered and moved fast.
The suspect’s brother has also been taken into custody for questioning. “I don’t know why…I just don’t know why he or if he had company why they did this to my daughter.”
