The partially decomposed body of an Albouystown man was discovered yesterday afternoon in a trench at the northern end of Le Repentir Cemetery.
Deonarine Ishmael, also known as ‘Dennis Persaud,’ 62, of Lot 152 James and Non Pariel streets, Albouystown, was identified by his sister. There were no apparent marks of violence on the man’s body.
Reports are that Ishamel’s body, clad only in a shirt, was seen floating in the trench by a resident at the now condemned western entrance of the cemetery at St Stephen’s Street.
Sandra Ramatar yesterday said that her brother had been missing since last Monday. Ishmael, according to the woman, may have left the house some time that night or by mid-morning on Tuesday.
While the woman stressed that Ishmael suffered from no mental illnesses she explained that he was admitted to the hospital late last month. Her brother, she reported, was a “heavy drinker” and as a result had become sick. “He used to drink a lot,” Ramatar told Stabroek News. “He’s been missing since last week Monday and I even went to the Kaieteur News and reported him missing to the police.”
The distressed sister explained that she had been searching for Ishmael up to yesterday morning and was shocked when police showed up at her house to inform her that they had discovered a body that might be his.
When Stabroek News arrived at the scene shortly before 3 pm yesterday police were not yet present. Criminal Investigation Department ranks arrived about 30 minutes later and the Lyken’s Funeral Parlour was called to cart the body away.
Ramatar said that while she did not suspect foul play in her brother’s death she did not understand how his body “ended up in the trench.”
Meanwhile, police up to late last evening had not issued a statement on the matter and there was no indication as to whether Ishmael’s case was being treated as a crime. A post-mortem examination will be conducted on the body shortly.
Residents who live in the immediate area voiced their concern about the state of Le Repentir Cemetery. The area, they said, has been overgrown with vegetation for many years and despite several complaints the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has failed to do anything. “Look at that area,” one man stated. “It overgrown and it does pitch black in the night. Somebody can drag you in there and do anything to you… is a usual thing them always finding bodies somewhere in there.”
The cemetery and its immediate surroundings need to be cleared, residents reiterated. City Mayor Hamilton Green last evening stated that the council accepts that Le Repentir Cemetery is in “unsatisfactory condition.” However, he opined that crimes or possible crimes at that location should not be linked to the state of the cemetery alone. “I accept the fact that the cemetery is in unsatisfactory condition,” the mayor said. “We are making special efforts to pull in some special funds…we just don’t have enough funds to address the problem.”
