A Plaisance shopkeeper was fatally stabbed early yesterday morning by a neighbour who had threatened to kill her after accusing her of putting a monkey to steal from him.
Dead is Sharon Burnett, a mother of three of Lot 47 Graham Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara, who turned 54 yesterday. She was stabbed once in the neck and later pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Police spokesman Jairam Ramlakhan yesterday confirmed that the suspect, a 57-year-old male, was arrested and is assisting with the investigation.
The fatal altercation occurred around 12.30 am.
For over 20 years Burnett owned and operated a small grocery shop, which is situated in front of her house. Relatives said that the woman would sleep in the shop.
Residents told this newspaper that the suspect allegedly set a freezer outside of Burnett’s shop on fire minutes before the stabbing. The smoke alerted her and when she opened the shop to check, she was attacked by the suspect.
Police, in a statement, said that about 8pm on Saturday, the suspect went to Burnett’s shop and accused her of sending her monkey to steal money from his house.
As a result, they had an exchange of words, during which the suspect allegedly threatened to kill her.
The police added that the suspect returned early yesterday morning to Burnett’s shop and they had a confrontation and he allegedly stabbed her.
An autopsy yesterday showed that Burnett died as a result of the stab wound to the neck.
When Stabroek News visited the scene yesterday, relatives were still trying to come to grips with Burnett’s death.
They said Burnett had “big plans’ for her 54th birthday yesterday.
Warren Burnett, the dead woman’s brother, told reporters that he was asleep when another relative raised an alarm. He said when he rushed out, he saw Sharon lying in a pool of blood.
“…He (relative) tell me, he seh ‘Come, see this man do something to yuh sister!’ So I run out and I see me sister lay down in a pool ah blood,” Warren recalled.
Warren noted that the attack stemmed from the suspect’s belief that his sister had put a monkey to steal from him. “Wah bring this incident between me sister and this man, is a monkey deh bout the place, bouncing all ova the place. And Friday night he [the suspect] come and lashing down the counter and a lil boy fly up in he face and tell he, ‘Aye yuh can’t do duh!’ And I run out and I go. I seh ‘Yo, yuh can’t come hay and do this hay’ and I tell the banna haul off. The banna haul off and he walk and go way. When he go in the yard he call me, ‘Warrey you tuh’. Well me ain’t answa he,” Warren explained.
He added that the suspect continued his disorderly behaviour on Saturday and even threatened to kill Sharon. As a result, Warren said he advised her to lodge a police report.
“…Saturday I go in the market 8 o’clock. When I go in the market, he was like cussing and behaving bad. [He said] ‘I gon’ kill she, I gon’ murder she ’cause they got monkey thieving me money and going in me house and thieving meh thing.’ So I come and tell she, when I come home from the market around 12 o’clock, I seh, sis go the station and make a report about this man. But she didn’t, like she didn’t go the station,” Warren further added.
Burnett’s family is now calling for justice.
“We gah seek justice. It can’t guh down just suh… me sister ain’t deserve fah die how she die hay,” Warren said.
