(Barbados Nation) The usual hustle and bustle of a Saturday afternoon in Bridgetown came to a standstill yesterday following the brutal murder of a 36-year-old nail technician and mother of two.
According to police reports, the woman, whose name was not released, but who our investigations indicated is Onica King of Four Roads, St Philip, or Lead Vale, Christ Church, was working in her shop at No. 41 Mandela Plaza on Swan Street when she was attacked around 2:45 by a man who is well known to her.
He reportedly fled the scene on foot.
This latest killing sent the number of murders in Barbados for this year to ten.
When a Sunday Sun team arrived on Swan Street, the mood was sombre, with people speculating on what had taken place. Shops in the immediate vicinity of the plaza were also forced to close because the area was inaccessible.
As news of the stabbing incident spread, hundreds of curious onlookers gathered on both sides of the cobbled street, which had already been cordoned off by police, so they could only watch from a distance. Many who abandoned their shopping or delayed trips home took up any available vantage point as they tried to catch a glimpse of the body, which was still in the building.
Many passers-by, including fellow nail technicians, vented their frustrations about the incident and most called for the Government and the law to do something to punish the perpetrators.
Since the stabbing, a video of the dying woman has gone viral, showing the victim’s two children (a boy and a girl) crying and screaming for their mother before being taken inside a room by an unidentified male.
At least one woman collapsed on the street sobbing uncontrollably.
When the news team left the scene at 5:45 p.m. a large crowd was still gathered, waiting on the body to be removed.
This incident comes on the heels of the stabbing death of police officer Shayne Welch on March 26 during a reported love triangle at his home in Kingsland Drive, Christ Church. Applon Parris has since been charged for his death.
