A 27-year-old man was yesterday remanded to prison after he was charged with murdering two women including a Venezuelan national over the last few months.
Joshua Connell of Lot 152 South Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara (ECD) is accused of murdering Venezuelan national Dimas Emilia Lezama Fermin and Bartica grocer Rosella Smith on October 4th and May 15th, respectively.
He appeared before Magistrate Crystal Lambert at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court where the charges were read to him via zoom.
Connell was not required to plead to the indictable charges. The matters were fixed for December 17th.
Connell was arrested by the police last Tuesday for questioning in relation to the murder of Fermin. While in custody, he was also questioned about the killing of Smith. Connell reportedly admitted to both crimes.
The police in a press release yesterday said that Connell told investigators that on the night of October 4th, he raped Fermin at her camp. During the process, the police added that Connell said he strangled Fermin after she put up a resistance after which he threw her body in a pit aback the camp.
According to the police, during further questioning, the accused also admitted to the murder of Smith. The police said Connell related that he choked Smith and threw her body in a pit after they were involved in an argument over a quantity of raw gold that she allegedly stole from him.
Fermin, a 28-year-old cook of San Felix, Venezuela, was discovered floating in the mining pit situated behind the mining camp on October 4. She worked on the mining camp at ‘Big Hope’ Backdam, Region Seven, as a cook.
Police in a report had said that the woman was found in a semi-nude state and her body bore multiple marks of violence.
Information gathered revealed that Fermin and a dredge owner shared a relationship. On October 4th at around 7.30, the owner of the dredge along with other miners from the camp left and went to the landing and began drinking alcohol at a shop.
At around 9.30 pm, a miner, informed the group that he was returning to the camp to take a shower. The following morning, the police were summoned to the scene after Fermin’s body was found floating in the mining pit.
The dredge owner and a miner were arrested in relation to the matter but they were subsequently released.
The lifeless body of Smith, 28, of Bamford Point, Bartica was discovered around 12.30 pm on May 15th by a miner who was heading to work. Her camp was subsequently checked and it appeared ransacked.
Smith sold groceries from a makeshift camp not far from where her body was found.
Autopsies showed that Fermin died as a result of compression injuries to the neck, compounded by multiple blunt trauma while Smith died as a result of asphyxiation due to manual strangulation.
