The man found murdered last week at a mining camp in Tumatumari, Potaro, has been identified as Danny Baldeo, of 49 Stewartville New Housing Scheme, West Coast Demerara.
Police had reported the victim’s name as Ramprakash Deonarine and Baldeo’s nephew, who asked not to be named, told Stabroek News he was puzzled as to how the mistake could have been made, especially since a bag with all of his uncle’s documents, including birth certificate and ID card, was at the mining site with him.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud told Stabroek News on Monday that the other camp employee who was left with Baldeo as well as a mining mat were missing and that they only had a nickname to go on. He further stated that based on the evidence found at the scene of the crime, the motive for the murder was most likely robbery.
The man said that he learned of his uncle’s untimely demise last Friday, when some of Baldeo’s co-workers showed up at his residence accompanied by two police officers to break the news to him. “They tell me that de boss man did leff he (Baldeo) in the camp fuh watch de gold while he (the owner of the operations) went to a hospital cause he seh he belly did huttin and he did want check it out,” he said.
Baldeo’s nephew expressed doubt at this story, stating that it puzzled him why, after working so hard and long to get his gold, could the boss not wait a little longer to take his gold with him. He also said that he found it hard to believe that his uncle would be chosen to watch the gold in the absence of the boss, due to the fact that the Baldeo had only been working with that particular camp for about three weeks.
“Something na right deh. They had to kill he fuh something,” said the man’s nephew, while suggesting that there must have been some foul play involved in his uncle’s death.
Baldeo’s nephew also said he was the one who went to identify the body of his uncle, and said that for some reason both the men with whom his uncle worked and the police officers were adamant that he identify it as soon as possible. “When I went fuh identify he, I freeze ’cause I couldn’t believe is wuh I did seein,” he said, relating in graphic detail the wounds he saw.
The man related that his uncle only had chop wounds to his head. When asked what other observations he was able to make, the man related that his uncle was covered with leaves and was only garbed in his underwear, which he found to be very strange. He said that when he visited his uncle some time ago, he noticed that the entire mining site was completely covered with mud and that there were almost no leaves around the site, and none in his tent. “How he whole body cover in leaves if they seh they find he inside he tent?” he asked.
