Beterverwagting bread vendor Clairmont Telesford was strangled, an autopsy concluded yesterday.
The body of Telesford, 63, of 101 Republic Drive, Beterverwagting, was discovered by his common-law wife, Shondell Emmanuel, shortly after they were attacked by bandits on Sunday morning.
The autopsy performed on his body yesterday by Government Pathologist Nehaul Singh gave the cause of death as manual strangulation, compounded by blunt trauma to the head.
Commander of ‘C’ Division Calvin Brutus, in a telephone interview, yesterday said that the police are searching for a suspect.
He noted that investigators were furnished with a name of a suspect and they are currently in pursuit of him.
Police on Sunday said that Telesford and Emmanuel were attacked at around 1.30 am at their home by three masked males, one of whom was armed with a firearm.
In a statement, the police said that they had been closing their business and were unpacking bread in their bottom flat apartment when the perpetrators attacked and relieved them of jewellery and cash. In the process, Telesford and Emmanuel were bound and assaulted but as the bandits were escaping, they took Telesford into the yard, where he was later found motionless with injuries to the head, the police said.
Emmanuel told Stabroek News that despite complying with the bandits, they still physically assaulted her and killed her husband.
“Ow, he didn’t deserve this…when they come, they said ‘I gone kill yuh if you don’t give we the money and jewellery.’ I tell them I gon’ give them but leh they don’t kill we…them get wah they want. I give them wah they ask for and they still kill him…I ain’t understand that,” the grieving woman said.
The bandits carted off over half a million dollars in cash and jewellery.
“He always keeping money all over. He had over $300,000 in savings and he does throw box hand and he does save here and there. I even does save and had over $200,000 in a bag. They gone with all…I tell them where all deh and beg for we lives but he still dead when I find he…,” Emmanuel explained.
The two had shared a common-law relationship for over 10 years and Telesford had been operating the business for over a decade and was well known in the community.
