Years of abuse ended tragically yesterday when a mother of seven was murdered by her reputed husband, who chopped her neck after having brutally beaten her.
Dead is Bhagmati Etwaru, 50, of Lot 196 Mangrove Street, Rose Hall Town, Corentyne. Her husband, Desmond Gordon, 48, was arrested still covered in her blood at the head of the street last evening.
A family friend, Lennox Ferdinand, stated that earlier in the day he had spoken with Gordon, who is on a one-year bond and advised him to change his behaviour. According to Ferdinand, the couple would imbibe and fight on a daily basis, mainly because Gordon had ordered Etwaru not to drink anymore, but she continued to.
He said that earlier in the day when he visited he saw marks on Etwaru’s face and it was at this point that he spoke to Gordon and left.
According to reports reaching this newspaper, the couple had been seen consuming alcohol since midday yesterday during they had a heated argument.
Ferdinand said that later in the afternoon Gordon and Etwaru got into another argument and this time Gordon took a piece of wood and beat Etwaru about the body. Ferdinand said at this time a call was made to the police at the Rose Hall Outpost. However, he claimed that the police said “that is husband and wife problem.”
He continued, “At the time we call the police, she could a been save. But every time she go to the station and the police them come, she coming back home. So dem police like dem fed up.”
This newspaper was told that Etwaru had jumped from the stairs of the upper flat to the bottom flat to escape the blows, but Gordon had armed himself with two cutlasses and chopped her about her body, including her neck. The woman then ran into the storeroom where she collapsed and died.
Ferdinand explained that he was standing on the road when Gordon emerged covered in blood and said to him, ‘I finish with she. I going to hang myself now.’ However, the police arrived soon after and arrested Gordon at the head of the street.
The couple had been living together for eight years. According to Etwaru’s sister-in-law who lives a few streets away, Gordon had threatened to kill Etwaru on numerous occasions. “He always promise she that he gon kill she,” she said. She explained that over the past eight years Etwaru had made numerous complaints at the police station and her relatives would always caution her not to get back together with Gordon but she would never listen.
