A Corentyne mother is now left to mourn the loss of her two sons after her husband’s brother stabbed them to death on Sunday, an attack which also left the woman hospitalised at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital.
Dead are half-brothers, Surendra Ragoonandan, also known as `Ranga’, 25, and Mahendra Ramoutar, also known as `Sonny’, 23, both of Number 43 Village, Corentyne.
On Sunday night, Ramoutar was rushed to the Skeldon Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival while Ragoonandan was pronounced dead on arrival at the Port Mourant Hospital.
According to residents in the area, Ragoonandan was left for some time on the road “bleeding out” before he was rushed to the hospital.
As of yesterday afternoon, the deceased’s mother, Sookmattie Richmond, 40, a housewife of Number 43 Village remained in the New Amsterdam Hospital in a serious condition.
Anthony Persaud, a relative of the suspect, who was injured while attempting to restrain the suspect was released from the hospital yesterday. He reportedly sustained an injury to his arm.
Police Commander of Region Six, Jairam Ramlakhan yesterday said that both deceased sustained multiple stab injuries about their bodies. He said that the suspect is in custody but was not saying much.
According to information gathered, both deceased resided with their mother and her husband, Ringo Richmond (the deceased’s stepfather) and the couple’s two younger children at Number 43 Village, Corentyne. The suspect resides next door with his father.
On Sunday evening, one of the stepfather’s relatives hosted a wedding just opposite where they resided. Stabroek News was told that after the couple returned home from the wedding they were involved in an argument which almost became physical at which point Ramoutar intervened.
According to information gathered, Ramoutar and his stepfather started to fight just around 10.30 pm and the now deceased pelted his stepfather with a bottle which caused an injury to his forehead.
It was stated that Richmond then called on his brother (the suspect) who then rushed over armed with a knife where in a fit of rage he began stabbing Ramoutar and his mother.
The two rushed outside of the yard to escape but the suspect followed them until the stepfather intervened which resulted in the suspect going over back to his yard.
After the suspect noticed Ragoonandan rushing to his mother’s house from the wedding house he then ran outside and began stabbing Ragoonandan as well after which he returned home.
According to a senior police source, the suspect after the stabbings returned home where he watched television and ate some food. He was arrested while watching television and eating. The suspected murder weapon was also retrieved from the scene.
Stabroek News visited the stepfather yesterday but he refused to speak to the media.
Hemwattie Ramoutar, also known as `Roopa’, 42, of Albion, Corentyne, an aunt of the deceased and sister of the injured woman, said she visited her sister at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital yesterday morning and the injured woman is barely able to speak.
She said they have not told the woman that both of her sons had been killed but it seems that she is aware.
“She keep asking but we don’t know how to tell her. She a cry and me tell her don’t cry you have to be strong. But she see when Sonny get stab but like she na know about Ranga”.
She continued, “Them tell me he (Richmond) and he wife get a problem and Sonny pick up for he mother and he and the stepfather get it out and the stepfather call for the brother (suspect) and the brother run over and stab them then then other brother (Ragoonandan) run on the road coming and then he (suspect) run out back and stab he too”.
According to the woman, her sister and husband would often fight and the sons would have to intervene.
However, she is of the opinion that it was a premediated attack on her sister and two sons on Sunday.
The sister in tears said, “To me something wrong… You done with one a them and them a hustle to carry he to the hospital and then you go on the road and you slash the other one and he left right pon the road. It was a plan what happen and he can’t just dream to come do that”.
According to the woman, the couple would often have issues and her nephews would visit her to express some of their burdens. “Them children always a come by me and me a talk to them and them a come back. I mean that he step son them. Me na live here but anything she does always call me. Lot a time them a get problem and them a put out the kid them and them kid a come back”.
The woman relayed that Ramoutar had ventured to the interior where he worked for over twelve months and only returned for the holiday last year. “Them children does try go away because them a fight when they put in them mouth for them mother… Like them ain’t able see advantage take”.
Ragoonandan’s employer, Lekha Rambrich, who lives and operates his businesses a short distance away from the crime scene, described him to be extremely hardworking. “He has been working with me for the past seven years. He start as a labourer and work his way up now as the operator of the drying and steaming facility”.
According to Rambrich, one of the major rice farmers on the Corentyne, he had known Ragoonandan for many years before employing him.
“He is such a very good person and he is a dedicated worker you can call on him 2 o clock in the morning or any hour of the night he is there to do”.
Rambrich, also President of the Rice Producers Association, said he thinks Number 43 Village desperately needs some sort of interven-tion from the relevant ministries “because this village is too much of rum drinking and too much of smoking of different type of herbs and this is causing a serious problem in this village”.
He added, “There is no young man in this community that come out of school with couple subjects. I think the ministry need to intervene in this community and work with these people because you have young people when they go to school you think they would come up to be somebody but as soon as they finish school they become somebody else and some na even finish school”.
