– relatives believe murder was planned
A 25-year-old woman died after she was stabbed several times early yesterday morning when four men invaded her West Ruimveldt home. The murder has the appearance of a robbery that ended badly, but relatives are convinced that the men were sent to kill her.
Shenese Richardson-Austin
Dead is Shenese Richardson-Austin called ‘Bucky’, a hairdresser of Lot 502 West Ruimveldt. Her husband who turned up at the Georgetown Hospital hours after the incident was arrested and is in police custody assisting with investigations.
Richardson-Austin was pronounced dead around 12.20 am in the operating room. She sustained several stab wounds to the hands but it was one to her neck that proved to be fatal. She was also beaten during the attack and this left her face badly swollen.
When the four bandits, three of whom were masked, forced their way into the house, Richardson-Austin, her mother Jean Ann Richardson and sister Rayana Haynes were at home.
The men escaped with gold jewellery, Richardson-Austin’s cellular phone and a substantial amount of cash.
Recounting the terrifying ordeal, Haynes told this newspaper that they would usually sell items at the home and around 11 pm she heard someone calling at the door. She said when she checked, there was a man who asked for $40 cigarettes adding that he was paying with $500.
Stabroek News was told that moments earlier the man had gone to a house at the back asking if that was the place that sold cigarettes.
According to Haynes, people would go to the home to buy things at all hours so the man asking for cigarettes at that hour was nothing strange to her.
She recalled that she handed the man Bristol cigarettes to the value of $40 and collected the money. However, when she turned to get change the man pushed open the door and signalled to three other men outside.
She said when she turned around she saw, four men all armed with “big guns”. She said the fake customer grabbed the gold chain she was wearing, after instructing her to remain quiet. Three masked men then entered and headed to a room at the back, after one of them grabbed a knife from a kitchen drawer. Richardson-Austin was sitting on a chair in that room eating KFC.
Haynes stressed that a total stranger would not know where they kept their knives and she insisted someone would have sent the men to the house and given them instructions as to what they had to do.
Haynes said she was forced into a room where her mother was sleeping and seconds later she heard her sister hollering for help. According to her, at this point, the gunmen were likely beating her sister and ransacking the room. She said that there was nothing she could have done because she was lying face down in the room with her mother, while a gunman stood guard over them.
When her sister started screaming, Haynes said, their mother jumped up out of her sleep and the gunman guarding them then relieved her of the gold rings she was wearing. The gunman also took $15,000 that was on top a vanity table, which represented sales for two days.
“He [the man guarding Haynes and her mother] tell them man ‘come along leh we go man, y’all don’t bother with that [ransacking the house]. We don do what we had to do, come along’,” Haynes said adding that the men spent at least 15 minutes in the house.
The woman told Stabroek News she was convinced that the motive was not robbery because no one else in the home besides her sister was harmed during the ordeal and her sister also did not put up any resistance that would have caused the men to kill her.
She said she was convinced that the men went to the home to kill her sister.
Relatives yesterday told Stabroek News that Richardson-Austin had suffered abuse and infidelity at the hands of her husband, with whom she had been involved for almost a decade. They were married for three years.
According to Haynes, Richardson-Austin’s husband had fathered a child outside of their marriage and this had upset her sister. She said that on countless occasions, the man had hit and threatened her sister. Four months ago, Haynes said, Richardson-Austin moved out of her matrimonial home in Ogle and returned to her mother’s residence from where she did hairdressing on a small scale. But she said her sister’s husband would follow her around. Haynes said her sister had made several reports to the police about her husband’s behaviour but nothing was done.
Haynes recalled that on Saturday last the two had an encounter, near La Repentir Cemetery in which he blocked the path of her car. When she finally got home, Haynes said, her sister told their mother that she was fed up of him.
Stabroek News was told that the man had attempted to drown his now dead wife in a tub at their home some time back and was once caught beating her on the Linden/Soesdyke highway. The man had also threatened to slit his wife’s neck, damage her face, puncture her fists and make her relatives holler, this newspaper was told by relatives gathered at the house yesterday.
Another sister Chrishanty was in tears when this newspaper visited the home.
“They murder me sister right hey fuh nothing at all… And when they don they wipe off them hand on a towel, they get from she drawer,” the woman said between sobs.
She told this newspaper that after stabbing the woman the gunmen tumbled drawers and found some cash.
Chrishanty said that when she saw her sister at the hospital, blood was gushing out of her neck and her face was swollen and black and blue.
She said that even before she was taken to the operating room, the medical staff at the hospital were already convinced that she could not make it.
Chrishanty said they were trying to call her sister’s cellular phone, but the person who has it is cutting it off all the time.
Richardson-Austin’s mother was in shock and during this newspaper’s visit was outside and unable to enter the house. The carpet in her dead daughter’s room was soaked with blood and there was more blood on a nearby fan. There was also some bloodstained cloth on the floor.
Jean Ann Richardson lamented that the police arrived hours after the incident had occurred. Stabroek News was told that a relative called the West Ruimveldt outpost but was told that there was no police officer available to go to the location.
According to the grieving mother, the police only arrived some three hours after her daughter had already died and dusted for fingerprints.
Persons who turned up at the home expressed their shock at the incident
Richardson-Austin was the fourth of five children.
very sad, another one. i do hope the police grill this scum for days until he give detail if he order the execution.
he is a sour looser.
More condolences to another Guyanese family in mourning. Indeed he’s a sore loser & look what he lost, this young lady looks like she was made of royal stock. If indeed he killed her I plead with whoever is in authority to give him the DEATH PENALTY. WE NEED penalties which will deter these punks from feeling that they can kill & get “lil jailtime” then return to harass more people. The domestic abuse also needs to be addressed & if she made previous reports to the foolice & nothing was donee I say charge the idiots for accessory to murder.
what we are seeing here is the rapid decline of a society and no one in authority seems willing or able to do anything of substance to halt the decline
FIRST MY CONDOLENCE TO THE FAMILY OF SHANESE RICHARDSON.AND THE PRESEDENT NEED TO STOP TAKING THE TAX PAYER MONEY AND TRAVELING AROUND DE WORLD HE NEED TO TAKE THE DAM MONEY AND FIX THE COUNTRY I AM TIRED OF READING IN THE NEWS PAPER ABOUT SOME MURDER OR ROBBERY PLUS THE POLICE R NOT UP TO STANDARD IN GUYANA 2 BECAUSE WHEN U GO MAKE A REPORT TO THEM THEY SAY THEY COMING AND THEY DONT GO AND SEE WHAT IS THE PROBLEM THEY SIT THEIR IN DE POLICE STATION AND THEY DONT ADDRESS THE PROBLEM SO THEIR R ALL TO BE BLAIM.
I am getting fed up with this country now, everyday is a killing and the police can’t find who did it!!The reason why these things are still going on is because they wouldn’t give a VERY HARD penalty is murderers are caught, instead it’s a lil 10 years. Move over some ah yall ovea in the states deh, i gun come deh just now.
My condolences to this sweet girl’s family.
Sandman tell me when you are going to be in the States. I will be at the airport(irrespective of the State) to greet you. LOL. Sandman you have yet to provide me with info regarding the number of female Indo-Guyanese police officers currently serving in the Guyana Police Force
No you shouldn’t. I remember you complaining about people leaving Guyana.
S.H. it wouldn’t be a bad move. You will not regret it. Two people I know personally this year alone have been murdered in Guyana. In the U.S. I don’t know of any for the year. Goodluck with the move.
Carl, leh de man do wuh he want. A lot o we been pun dah “Guyana fuh Life” bandwagon till we realise dat we just wasting we precious time an nuttin aint goin change an on top we gettin old, frooken and swinge-up wid all de tryin we tryin. It gat plenti spahts still open, if not up hay then plenti country want people.
Yeh SandHurst, you done know…you could come St.Maarten too you kno (lol)…Guyana is a sick place now though…it’s about time you leave as fast as possible. Guyana is still my for life but i going just represent it far away from it…sometimes you could see how shame peope is to let others know they Guyanese with the nonsense goin on there…that girl was so pretty…omg how people could have such a mind…dammn…the coming of God is near. My condolences to her family
I Say No More,
Sandman answered you yesterday, he said that there was 72. Since he knows EVERYTHING, I asked him to name them. He did not respond.
I thought you said that you love your country and did not want to migrate since you do not want to live in another mans country —hyprocrite . Besides how will you get your passport back from the police –unless you are coming backtrack . You will not last a week here with your ideology .Stay in guyana and survive .
I beg th Gov’t to bring back the DEATH PENALTY.
oh gosh!!what a news for this xmas, i am tired of this people killing people.what is going on in my country????????……..seriously!!we must pray for the mind’s of the people of guyana to be healed.with all the catastrophic things going on prayers is needed by all!!!!……..i am deeply saddened about this !!!!! my condolences to the family……RIP SHENESE.
so sad
what is going on in guyana,
is every gone mad
my condolance to the familey.
may her soul rest in peace. like
guyanies can,t do any thing only killing.
i am a shame of guyana, i wan,t to help my country
but i wont trow my money away, in this way,
the goverment have to do something about it,
why can,t there be love, why hate and killing.
“One Love, One Heart, Lets getogeather and feel alright”
My heart goes out to the familes. I am so sorry for your lost
My heart goes out to Shenese Richardson-Austin’s family. May Jehovah guard they hearts…
I admit that Guyanese and non-Guyanese alike are amazed at the distressing situation in which the crime wave has become rampant over the years.
Please don’t judge some of the Guyanese and automatically assume that all are killers, abusers, or some of the most hideous people on the face of the planet, based on some unscrupulous or ungodly people.
But instead let us all remember: – “The challenges of change are always hard. It is important that we begin to unpack those challenges that confront this nation and realize that we each have a role that requires us to change and become more responsible for shaping our own future”- Hillary Clinton
OMG Not Again! Seems very much like an execution to me, My condolences to her family and may she rest in eternal peace !
When there should be joy and happiness, there is sadness and mourning!The lawlessness continues unabated while high officials and keystone cops twiddle their thumbs. Murder for hire and they laugh in the face of death, pain and suffering. When will the ineptitude end and those who have hijacked DEMOCRACY infuse enough steel in their spine to take the mantle and DO THEIR JOB properly.
The people of Guyana will only get proper police service when the elite people (guyana) or there family are victimized on a consistent bases.
here we go again,,,, you have Juan big chip on your shoulder for the govt. and it is quiet apparent from your ramblings.How is it that every crime committed in Guyana is the government’s fault,is every crime done in The Bahamas or any part of the world to be blamed on the govt. of the day?I have a sister living in the Bahamas and it is very crime ridden, its even more corrupt than Guyana. Foreighners are not welcomed to live and work there, they are harassed daily by law enforcerment who raids certain areas where migrant workers are and demands bribe, especially from poor Haitians. I was just “juandering” is there no murders or robberies in the Bahamas or any other part of the Carribbean.Have juan great day.
Nunca Juan, the devil & his angels always benefit from murder & mayhem
kittykat1944, when the head of the house is a failure anarchy reigns. We are not in the Bahamas, comparisons to places that are worse off doesn’t make it better or right. Why are you in Canada if you think Guyana is honky dory …………. go home!!! Go enjoy the “life” Guyana has to offer. ALL the crap that is occuringis a direct result of LACK of leadership & governance
Kittykat1944 don’t be so sensitive. Ultimately any government is responsible for the efficient running of the country. If crime is rampant the government has the responsibility to address the issue no matter which country. Not because crime happens in other countries that does not mean that the citizens should accept the crime in Guyana. I’m sure that if the country was performing above standard the government would get the credit, so they will need to accept the blame when things aren’t right.
Hey Fulani, i go home twice a year and for your information after my children finish college and university we will all be going home to do our part in making guyana a better place than what Forbes and Desmond left.Its too bad people like you can only sit back in N.A and throw stones at the govt. no matter what good they do because of your built in biases. I go to Guyana regularly and spend my money on poor ppl. in Guyana to help aleviate the poverty and devastation left by the past Dictatorial Regime that sat there illegally for 28 years.
omg i feel real sad for this family my condolences to them.After reading this all fingers point to her abusive husband.
Dem guyanese man got typeee.
my sincere condolences goes out to the bereaved realtives of Mrs Richardson Austin. our soil has lost a beauty. according to what i read and the instructions the men were given it clearly shows that they were sent to execute her. you give them detailed directions to her room and the house. but although you did not do the act yourself you will still be charged with her murder based on the information given. you are cruel, cold blooded and heartless. what will God do with people like you on Judgement day.
Judgement day? It is now in Guyana.
u r so rite judgement day is comeing to all in it
Condolence to the family
This is so darn buutal, gruesome, senseless and the darn police are so lackadasical in responsiveness. They seems so ineffcient.
It is so sad to realize how people are brutalizing each other without remorse as with the stabbing, cutting off necks, shooting, bashing heads in with hammer……
It is also very troublesome to realise that folks are still so very trusting in these criman times in Guyana and apparently are not paying attention to the news.
It seems as if they are making it easier for the criminals to carry out their bold acts of violence. For instance – like opening the door for strangers @ nights and keeping shop all hours where folks just come to your home of abode to buy groceries.
Just back in October when I was vising my kin folks in Guyana who have a shop detached from the house; one morning about 2 am, some guy came a knocking @ the door (house) asking for my sister-in law and stated he wanted to buy some cigarets also.
Seeing that I was the only one up, I told the guy to come back in the morning and checked quickly to make sure all the doors were well secured. I was not going to open the door for some carazy dude in the wee hours in the morning and I do not trust people like that.
These folks are acting like animals, devouring each other.
So freaking sad!
animals don’t act like that my friend, only when they are challenged and is backed up in a corner then they react.
My exact sentiments, dove. Surely, the Richardson family had to be aware of the numerous murders committed against women and the seemingly rising cases of Domestic Violence. Only the good Lord knows why the family didn’t make more strenuous efforts to get out of that situation.
Time and time again young women are urged to get out of relationships at the first sign of abuse. RUN! RUN! don’t wait around for the man to change. He never will. Moreover, I still don’t understand why the police seem to be so lackadasical to reports of Domestic Violence! For goodness sake, I’m, sure that some of those very officers have relatives who are or were at some time a victim of DV. What is really going on???? Don’t people care anymore? Is there no sanctity for life?
It is so sad. Ms Richardson seems to be a very beautiful woman. My sympathies to the family.
I say the home affairs minister should resign….further more the whole incompent usless government should go,it makes me so angry when I see what has become of my country,sympathies to the family!!