A Melanie Damishana man whose electrified fence caused the death of a 15-year-old remained in custody yesterday and is expected to be charged shortly.
Meanwhile, a post-mortem is to be conducted today on the body of the 15-year-old Melanie resident Leondrew Davis who was electrocuted on Monday.
The boy’s aunt Desiree Davis told Stabroek News yesterday that the child’s parents are currently in the “interior” where they work and are awaiting transportation to travel out. The aunt said the boy had lived with her since he was a baby and that the mother also resided at their 87 Melanie address.
Tragedy struck around 6 pm on Monday when the boy was electrocuted while holding onto a poultry farmer’s fence.
According to reports, the boy died after coming into contact with an electrified fence surrounding the property of a poultry rearer indentified as Grafton Wright of Linden Drive, Melanie Damishana.
Wright, who was taken into police custody on Monday evening, had visible marks of violence which his relatives said were inflicted by irate villagers.
Leondrew’s cousin Candace Davis had told Stabroek News that he had left to go play football with friends as they normally did every afternoon in the vicinity of Wright’s property. According to the woman, the football reportedly went into the man’s yard and upon seeing Wright approaching on a bicycle the boys decided to await his arrival to retrieve their ball.
However, the man ignored the boys, Davis said, adding that they had all been leaning against the fence before the man arrived. Davis said she learnt that all of them except her cousin moved away from the fence.
“They see a light come on,” the woman relayed, adding that the boys then realised that Leondrew had not moved from the fence but was gripping it with both hands and appeared to be in pain. The woman said she was told that the light went off after Wright looked out and apparently saw what had happened.
According to the woman, someone tried CPR on her cousin but in less than a minute he was dead.
The boy was then taken to the practice of a private doctor nearby, where he was reportedly pronounced dead, before the body was taken to the Vigilance Police Station.
Stabroek News was at the station on Monday evening when Wright was brought in and observed that he had a head wound and a swollen eye.
“He seh a woman chop he in he head,” one relative who chose to remain unidentified said. The man was processed and placed in a cell.
Villagers had said that Wright usually electrified his fence to deter thieves from making off with his poultry.
