Suspect in fatal Freedom Day stabbing held

The suspect in the fatal stabbing of 20-year old plantain chip vendor Jermaine Simon, who died in the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) on Thursday, a day after being stabbed about the body several times, has been held by the police.

Simon, of South Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, was stabbed on Emancipation Day while he and his elder brother, Shermin Simon, were walking along America Street, sometime around 10 pm. He was stabbed several times about his body with an ice pick.

Jermaine Simon

It is believed that Simon and the suspect had an ongoing feud over name calling, which resulted in fights several times in the past.
According to the dead man’s sister-in-law, who asked not to be named, relatives were informed of the incident at sometime around 11 pm, one hour after it occurred. “Me husband (Shermin Simon) called me and tell me that Jermaine get juk up and he deh at the hospital and we rush down deh,” she recounted.
The woman added that her brother-in-law was immediately rushed to the operating theatre where he underwent an emergency operation and was later admitted to the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.

The woman said that the duo had left to go and sell plantain chips in the National Park and it was while they were returning home that the younger Simon “hailed up” the suspect and was subsequently stabbed.“He and my husband were coming back home and them went walking on America Street when Jermaine hail up the man, who stab he, and said ‘wham deh regular boy’ and then the man hold on pon he basket and refuse to loose off although them boys tell he fuh loose the man basket,” she recounted. “After he loose the basket and Jermaine went walking behind my husband, who went about 20 steps in front he, the man tek out a long ice pick and call fuh Jermaine and just start jukking he like crazy,” she added.

After the younger Simon was stabbed, the bleeding man was rushed to the GPH, where he succumbed to his injuries sometime around 5pm on Thursday.

His body is at the GPH mortuary and a post mortem examination is expected to be performed on Monday.
The suspect was apprehended by the police and it is expected that criminal charges will soon be instituted.