July 12, 2016 Source

The Crane, West Coast Demerara man who allegedly chopped his wife and son to death was arraigned for the crime at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Suresh Ganesh, 27, was not required to plead when Magistrate Clive Nurse read the charges to him. He is scheduled to return to court on August 29.

The court heard that on July 1, Ganesh murdered Vanessa Sookram, 34, and two-year-old Joel Ganesh.

Ganesh, called “Tarzan” and “Battery,” stood emotionless in the dock and when asked what his address was, he told the magistrate that he did not know.

As he sat waiting for the case to be called, he glanced back and saw Sookram’s mother, Anita Persaud and another relative and appeared a bit uneasy. He bent his head and kept rubbing his eyes.

As he was being led away from court, Persaud shouted, “Murderer, Suresh Ganesh is a murderer!”

Ganesh, a labourer, reportedly chopped Sookram, his common-law wife and their son to death around 4 am.

He later allegedly turned the murder weapon, a cutlass, on his mother, Jennifer, and severed one of her hands. He has not been charged in relation to this. The woman, who had taken bread for him when she was attacked, is still a patient at the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH).

Sookram was chopped to her neck, which was almost severed, among other parts of her body, whilst Joel was chopped to his abdomen, which left him virtually gutted.

According to reports, Ganesh abused alcohol and drugs on a regular basis. He and Sookram shared a relationship for several years and during that time he had reportedly subjected her to severe beatings.

Sookram, according to relatives, left him on three occasions but she returned despite their urgings that she leave. She was also the mother of an older child, who is being taken care of by her mother.

Meanwhile, police had received information a few hours after the murders that the suspect was seen in the vicinity Pouderoyen, a few villages away from Crane, and they went to the area where he was spotted with the suspected murder weapon.

Ganesh reportedly ran into a yard at Lot 84 Samaroo Dam, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara, where he allegedly chopped, David Persaud, 51, a security guard, to his left shoulder, back and left hand. One of the man’s fingers was almost severed as a result.

Ganesh was subsequently shot to his hip and leg after he attempted to attack the police during their attempts to arrest him. He was taken to the WDRH, where he underwent surgery.