The body of a Sophia woman was discovered last evening in the canal just behind the Botanical Gardens.
A woman who was walking along Sheriff Street sometime around 6 pm yesterday was the first to notice the body later identified as Anne Dey, who friends say was in her mid-forties.
When Stabroek News arrived at the Sheriff Street location shortly before 7 pm police were already present and a sizeable crowd had gathered. It is unclear whether there were marks of violence on Dey’s body and up to press time police had not issued a statement about the matter.
“Ow Lord is Anne, is Anne,” a Sophia resident exclaimed when Dey’s body was pulled from the canal. “Is Anne…she does live right down there in Sophia by the water well area side…”
The woman explained that at approximately 4 am yesterday Dey and her reputed husband were heard arguing. Dey was seen at about 7 am by other residents but no one could say what happened to the woman after.
Dey’s reputed husband, when approached by this newspaper last evening, said that the woman did not live with him and gave directions where her “relatives” could be found. He refused to comment further.
Gwendolyn Younge, a 92-year-old woman, told Stabroek News that she last saw Dey on Monday afternoon. Late last week, Younge explained, Dey had been released from “a shelter” and had stayed a few nights at her house.
“She wasn’t too right in her head,” Younge said. “After she get out of this shelter she come to my house…sometimes she would come stay with me and take care of me for a short time but as soon as her head start to give her trouble that was the end of it.” Younge insisted that she is in no way responsible for the deceased.
“I am not responsible for her,” Younge said. “Many years ago when she was child she stayed with me for a little while and then moved in with her relatives…I used to be with one of her uncles and that is how I came to know her.”
Younge said that the deceased’s mental condition affected her relationship with her reputed husband. Dey leaves to mourn three children and three foster children.
Police were in the Sophia area up to 8 pm investigating the woman’s death. Stabroek News was reliably informed that Dey’s reputed husband was taken into police custody for questioning. (Sara Bharrat)
