Dumped body of US citizen on C’tyne … Four months after marriage, US wife confesses to killing husband - victim had taken out million $$$ insurance policy
by Michael Jordan
The wife of US-based Guyanese Abdool Shakeel Majid has reportedly confessed to murdering her spouse, whose battered body was found last month on the Number 56 foreshore, Corentyne.
The 37-year-old woman was arrested on Sunday after she returned from the United States and reported to the New Amsterdam Police Station to identify her slain husband’s body.
Kaieteur News has confirmed that the woman’s brother and a male cousin have also been detained and that charges are likely within a few days. The suspects are all Corentyne residents.
Abdul Majid
Police have also impounded the vehicle in which the killers allegedly transported Majid’s body. Bloodstains and sand were found in the car trunk. Detectives reportedly also retrieved the woman’s driver’s permit from the car.
Evidence indicates that the grisly crime was motivated by greed.
Close relatives of the victim said that 43-year-old Majid had taken out a million-dollar insurance policy in the United States last March. He had also been awarded a hefty settlement after being injured in an accident.
Majid’s battered body, with scalp missing, was found on April 27 at the Number 56 Village, Corentyne foreshore. The remains were only identified on May 16 last, when a brother visited Guyana after becoming suspicious about the wife’s behaviour.
Kaieteur News understands that at no time did the man’s spouse inform the police that he was missing.
Police believe that the former New York taxi driver was murdered shortly after he arrived in Guyana for one of his many visits.
Abdool Haseeb Majid, the slain man’s brother, revealed that the victim and prime suspect married last December. After the marriage, she reportedly made frequent visits to Guyana.
On April 22, the couple visited Guyana for a holiday, and stayed at Majid’s sister in Diamond Housing Scheme. On April 25, Majid and his wife travelled to Berbice in a car that the victim often rented from a young friend.
It is alleged that the following day, Majid telephoned his sister who resides in Diamond and informed her that he was heading to Suriname.
According to the brother, on April 28, Majid’s wife returned to the US.
“She appeared at my door…she was happy, she gave me a hug.” He said that Majid’s wife told him that she had returned to the US after hearing that one of her daughters from another relationship had been injured.
The woman also reportedly told the brother that her husband had travelled to Suriname.
The brother said that their father, who lives in the US, celebrated his birthday on May 1, and on that day the father received a phone call from a male whom the father assumed was Majid. The caller wished the father ‘happy birthday’ then abruptly hung up. However, the brother was suspicious.
“I said ‘Dad, you hear from Shakeel?’ and he said ‘Yes’. I say you sure is Shakeel, and he say ‘yes, but like he not well, he voice sound sore.’”
According to the brother, Majid’s wife, who was nearby, then received a call on her telephone. After, she alleged that her husband had called.
“She say is Shakeel, is Shakeel, he having fun in Suriname.”
But according to the brother, at around May 6, the woman began to ‘drop hints’ that she was not hearing from her husband. The brother said that his wife eventually suggested that the woman return to Guyana to look for her spouse. The suspect then returned to Guyana on May 9.
“On May 10, she called me and say that she needed money, and I asked her if she had found my brother.” He alleged that a strange man then spoke on the phone. “I said that ‘you are not my brother’, and she came on (the phone ) again and I say ‘where is my brother’ and she hung up the phone. A chill ran through my body.”
Around Saturday, May 12, the brother said that he made a report at the New York Police Department and was advised to return to Guyana and make a report to local police.
He returned to Guyana on Sunday, May 13. Unknown to him, Majid’s wife returned to the US on the same day.
Kaieteur News was told that on Monday, May 14, the brother made an official missing persons report at the Brickdam Police Station.
The brother said that his fears about his brother’s safety escalated when he visited his sister at Diamond Housing Scheme and discovered that the wife had left a bag containing his brother’s US passport. The brother said that he gave the document to officials at the US Embassy.
Then last Thursday, the brother said that he received a call from a relative from the West Coast of Demerara, who had read a recent article about an unidentified body being found on the Number 56 Village foreshore.
On Saturday, he traveled to New Amsterdam, Berbice and positively identified his brother’s body at the mortuary.
Meanwhile, detectives were alerted that a car that the victim usually rented while in Guyana had been used to transport the body.
Kaieteur News understands that when the wife had returned the car, the owner observed that the vehicle had several dents. The wife had reportedly left some money to have the damaged vehicle fixed but did not pay for the rental.
Police forensic experts observed sand and bloodstains in the car. The wife’s driver’s permit was also reportedly found in the car.
Detectives subsequently arrested the wife’s brother and a cousin. But the wife was still in the US.
“On Thursday, she called my sister and I told her that the body had been discovered.”
Last Friday, detectives learnt that the wife was scheduled to return to Guyana. They staked out the airport but the suspect did not turn up.
However, on Sunday, Majid’s wife returned to Guyana. She reportedly then visited the New Amsterdam Police station and informed the ranks that she had come to identify her husband’s body. Police promptly took her into custody.
Majid’s brother complimented the detectives at the New Amsterdam Police Station for their professionalism.
“The New Amsterdam CID did an outstanding job; they were very co-operative. I got results and I am happy.”
