Mystery
remains over bizarre deaths
--
relatives hoping for answers from post mortem
By Neil Marks
MYSTERY last night still surrounded the deaths of four
persons, including two children, whose decomposed bodies were
found in a house at Grove, East Bank Demerara Wednesday morning,
but relatives are looking to today’s post mortem to find out how
they died.
The
Police have apparently made no headway into the gruesome
discovery, as yesterday they only said their investigations were
continuing and gave the names of the children who died, after
these were affirmed by the media.
The
bodies of Fred Looknauth, 66, and Danmatie Kayman, 43, along with
her two children Alicia Kirkpatrick, 7 and Melville Jr., 3, were
discovered at Lot 102 Grove public road, East Bank Demerara by
neighbours.
Kayman,
who worked as conductor for the Route 42 mini-bus operated by the
father of the three year-old child who died, would have celebrated
her 43rd birthday yesterday, but her close relatives only had good
times to remember and cry - nothing to celebrate.
Her
relatives said a bag she always had with her, containing her
valuables, and her documents, for which she was planning to
migrate, has not been found.
Danmattie
moved into the house Looknauth was paid to look after a few months
ago, after she was reportedly put out of her house at Kaneville,
also on the East Bank Demerara, in a “raw deal” she suffered
at the hands of relatives from her first marriage, relatives said.
Her
mother, Rita Ramlagan, had told the Guyana Chronicle that the
relatives apparently did not like the idea of her “child
father” staying with her in the house. They also said she was
not having a relationship with Looknauth.
When
she went looking for a place, Looknauth reportedly agreed to take
her in, and he took care of the children while she was at work.
The mother, neighbours said, would stop “three, four times” a
day to check on the children, once she knew they were home from
school.
A
neighbour, who said he usually accompanied the little girl across
the road when she returned from school, added that what happened
to them is “the million dollar question.”
McKena
Theobald, called ‘'Pally”, whose daughter married one of
Looknauth’s sons, said he misses his “partner.”
He
said he would usually call on Looknauth every morning when he
would go to the Diamond new housing scheme for breakfast, but when
he heard no reply Monday and Tuesday, he figured that he was in
the rum shop in the village.
According
to ‘Pally’, Looknauth would usually take a drink at a shop in
the village and he would join him.
He
said he last saw Looknauth Saturday at around noon when they both
helped in picking breadfruit from the tree in the yard Looknauth
was taking care of.
He
said the two of them chatted and then he accompanied him into the
street and saw him enter the alleyway to go to his daughter Elaine
Ramrattan, who lives at 103 Grove squatting area.
That
Saturday was the last she would see her father alive. She said he
would usually visit her for food, but he would skip some days as
the now dead woman would sometimes cook.
Kayman
would usually spend the weekend at her mother’s place in East La
Penitence. In fact, her mother said she called her Saturday night
to tell her to cook chowmein for her and that she was coming over.
However,
she failed to show at her mother’s place Saturday night and the
father of the three-year-old who was also found dead, went to pick
her up at her mother’s place Sunday morning, as per their
previous arrangement.
Relatives
said he was being questioned by the Police. The woman’s mother,
Rita Ramlagan, said she called out at the house both Sunday and
Tuesday evenings, but got no response from her daughter, Danmattie.
She
recalled though that on Sunday night, when she first called, a
woman who was entering the yard, said that Danmattie left to go
out with her seven-year-old daughter, Alicia. Ramlagan said she
heard the three-year-old boy crying inside.
Yesterday,
when Ramlagan saw the woman again, the Police were alerted. It was
not clear if the woman was taken into Police custody.
Danmattie
was found in the bathroom of the upper flat of the building,
covered with a cloth, while Looknauth was found in the living
room, also covered. The children were found in the lower flat of
the building.
Neighbours
made the startling discovery when they decided to check on a foul
smell that was coming from the house.
Friday, August
4, 2006
