Women’s butchered bodies found in coconut grove

- suspect ingests poison - The butchered bodies of two women who disappeared on Saturday were found at around 07:00 hrs yesterday in a coconut grove at Adventure, Black Bush Polder, Corentyne.

Police and relatives identified the victims as 33-year-old Florry Papiah, a vendor and mother of two girls of Lot 11 Miss Phoebe Port Mourant Corentyne Berbice and Jennifer Pooran, 19, a mother of one of the same address and previously of Block 14 Port Mourant Corentyne. Kaieteur News understands that the corpses were found under a heap of coconut branches. According to a relative, Papiah, who has two daughters aged 15 and 13, was chopped across her face, back and hands.         

Sources said that Pooran’s neck was severed and body also bore other wounds. A cutlass, some clothes and a bag were reportedly found at the scene. Sources said that the prime suspect in the brutal double-murder is Papiah’s 19-year-old nephew, Deodat Persaud, called ‘Simon’, who is in a critical condition at the New Amsterdam Hospital from suspected poisoning. He is believed to be the last person to have seen the victims alive, since he accompanied them to the area to cut coconut branches to make brooms.         

He has no fixed place of abode and would sometimes stay at his aunt’s home. While the motive is unclear, there are reports that the killer was under the influence of drugs when the attack occurred. Kaieteur News understands that the nephew told investigators that while at Adventure some men held them at gunpoint and told him to drink poison and run. He reportedly also said that the men then abducted the two women. One of Papiah’s daughters told Kaieteur News that her mother’s friend, 19-year-old Pooran, had been living at her mother’s home for over two years. She said that Pooran, who is survived by a two-year-old son, sold icicles and would assist with chores.         

Both women had resided briefly in Suriname. Papiah’s daughter said that on Saturday, the two women and the nephew left to cut coconut branches and ‘strip broom’ at Adventure, Corentyne. She said that around 11:00 hrs the nephew returned alone, when she enquired about her mother, the nephew said that Papiah had left to sell brooms. The daughter recalled that the nephew had left wearing a white vest, but was not wearing the garment when he returned.

According to her, the nephew returned about 30 minutes later and began to vomit. “He then ran inside and started to vomit and when me asked him what happen he did not answer”. He ran inside and collapsed. She raised an alarm and the nephew was rushed to the Port Mourant Hospital before being transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital. There are reports that he attempted to escape from the hospital. The girl stated that her uncles and other relatives made a missing report at the Whim Police Station at around 16:30 hrs.         

They then searched late into the evening for the missing women but failed to locate them. Accompanied by police, they returned yesterday to the area and eventually located the women’s mutilated corpses under a pile of coconut branches. Papiah and her reputed husband separated several years ago. Relatives described her as a kind and loving mother who worked hard to take care of her two daughters. The children attend The Church of Latter Day Saints and members of the church visited the home to render assistance to the distraught family.