The families of two Berbice men who were allegedly stabbed to death in Georgetown on Friday are demanding justice, as police continue investigating the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
The deceased were identified as 28-year-old Wreford Junior Trim, a vendor of Durban Backlands, Georgetown, formerly of Edinburgh Village, East Bank Berbice, and 36-year-old Tyrone Captain, a labourer of Beepat Squatting Area, Sophia, formerly of Eversham, Corentyne, Berbice.
Preliminary investigations revealed that an altercation occurred involving the two deceased men and a 29-year-old salesman of Industry, East Coast Demerara, during which Trim and Captain allegedly sustained stab wounds.
Trim was subsequently found on Commerce Street, Georgetown, where he was pronounced dead by a doctor from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. Captain was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, where he succumbed while receiving medical attention.
Sister Recalls Scene
Speaking to Ignite News, Trim’s sister, Lilawattie Ramnarace, said the family was devastated by his death and is seeking answers. She recalled receiving a frantic call from her sister informing her that their brother had been stabbed.
Ramnarace said she was particularly disturbed by the injuries she saw on her brother.
“When i get there in town, my brother, left side on his throat have a hole my hand could fit in. My hand could literally fit in the hole on his neck,” she said.
According to Ramnarace, family members later spoke with people at the location who provided them with accounts of what allegedly occurred.
She said an elderly female vendor reportedly told the family that Trim had been setting up his stall when Captain, known as “Ice Man”, called him. Ramnarace said the woman claimed that an argument was taking place between the ice vendor and another individual, and that Trim was attempting to calm the situation.
“The Iceman and some other individual was arguing. And my brother was saying, ‘cool out, cool out’. She said she don’t know what happened after that. And my brother running, coming, calling for she should open my towel to catch him because she see the blood. And by the time she got to catch him, he fall right there. He fall there and he never get her back. That was it.
That was it. She didn’t say that my brother was fighting. She didn’t say he was arguing. She didn’t say he had a weapon. She said he was… She said he was telling them to chill out, to relax. That’s all we know. We went to where he have his stall. They start coming and tell us that, yeah, this Douglaman family, Douglaman don’t trouble nobody. Douglaman don’t fight. Douglaman is a nice man,” Ramnarace said.
“We are hoping to get justice for my brother,” she said.
Ramnarace also questioned any suggestion that the stabbing could have been an act of self-defence, insisting that, based on what the family has been told, Trim was not armed.
“How is it going to be self-defense? Cut my brother’s throat, but he didn’t have a weapon. What are you defending yourself from?” she questioned.
She said Trim’s death has also left his eight-year-old daughter struggling to understand why her father will no longer be there for her.
Cousin Remembers Captain
Meanwhile, Captain’s cousin, Charlyne Sutherland, described him as a loving, hardworking, caring and mannerly person. Sutherland said Captain had moved to Georgetown approximately eight years ago and remained in regular contact with his relatives in Berbice. She said the family was shocked to learn of his death.
“I was at the market selling, and I heard that my cousin got stabbed up and died,” she recalled.
Sutherland said Captain regularly communicated with his aunt and grandmother and visited them whenever possible. She said the family is also seeking justice and wants the circumstances surrounding his death to be established.
“Justice. Because he didn’t deserve to die like that. The person that stabbed him, justice must serve. The truth must come out,” Sutherland said.
Sutherland said the family had heard that Captain had gone into Georgetown with another person, but stressed that they were not present when the incident occurred and therefore did not want to speculate about what led to the stabbing.
Investigation Ongoing
Police have since arrested the 29-year-old suspect, who remains in custody.
A knife suspected to have been used during the incident was recovered and lodged pending examination, while CCTV footage has also been obtained and forms part of the ongoing investigation.
Investigations are ongoing.
