A grieving Sunita Saymar yesterday related that her daughter, Bibi Rafeena Saymar, had been in an abusive relationship with her reputed husband for two years.
But she was afraid to leave him for he promised to make her life and the lives of her family miserable if she did. The atmosphere was heavy with grief when the Chronicle yesterday visited the home of the murdered hairdresser’s parents at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo.
The mother of the 24-year-old was inconsolable and had to be comforted by several relatives and friends that had gathered at the residence.
The grieving woman told the Chronicle that her daughter had indicated that she wanted to get out of the abusive relationship but was too afraid to move away since her husband had often threatened to make her life and the lives of her family miserable.
Sunita Symar said the last time she saw her daughter alive was Wednesday last when her reputed son-in-law, Dennis Persaud, 52, arrived at her home to take her to lunch.
The woman stated that Persaud arrived in the country from Canada in February.
She added that her daughter was often beaten by him and she would see the marks of violence on the girl’s body. She and Persaud were married according to Hindu rites two years ago.

Sunita Symar explained that her daughter lived a very guarded life and was often accused of infidelity by her jealous husband. She was only allowed to go out with him.
She said, “He told her he would disfigure her and blow her brains out if she ever left him, or try to; because if he cannot have her, then no other man will.”
The mother of two told the Guyana Chronicle that two weeks ago her son-in-law tried to kill her daughter while they were at a popular nightspot, where he accused a group of men of watching his wife, and rammed his vehicle into their parked bus.
The vehicle he was driving ended up in trench and the two of them were trapped inside. They were rescued by the same group of men he had pulled a gun on earlier that evening.
He was pulled from the vehicle and beaten by the men that night, while his wife had to beg the group to let him go.
Bibi Rafeena Saymar was injured in the accident and her husband refused to take her to a doctor.
Sunita Saymar admitted that her son-in-law would leave just $200 for her daughter to go to classes; she had enrolled herself at a beauty school and would often have to borrow money from people just to get by.
Bibi Rafeena Saymar’s stepfather, Jewanlall Saram, said that he was aware that his daughter was being abused and knew she was fearful of reporting the incidents to the police.
Bibi was stabbed to death in her apartment at Hague on the West Coast Demerara early Saturday morning.

Relatives said that Persaud showed up at the murder scene and he was arrested by the police who were summoned by neighbours.

The constant ringing of his cell phone alerted police after he was taken into custody and they began to monitor the calls.
The calls came from a rastafarian man and a  taxi driver, who were later arrested.
It is alleged that the man had been hired by Persaud to kill his wife, and the taxi driver was an accomplice in the deal.

Bibi Rafeena Saymar’s parents yesterday expressed anger and disgust at Persaud’s hesitation in rendering assistance to her daughter, who was reportedly still alive when he arrived on the scene.
Her mother said, “He should have rushed her to the hospital, and just maybe she would have survived or would have been able to give an account of the incident.”
They said the apartment was ransacked by the killer, who wanted it to look like a robbery and they believe that their loved one was asleep when she was attacked.
She was in bed when the knife-toting killer entered her apartment through an unlocked window and attacked her even while she was asleep, the grieving mother said.
Her back bore the brunt of the injuries and she had a single wound at the neck.
The woman was also dragged from her bed and placed on the mat near her bedside and eventually began to scream. This alerted the neighbours, who saw a man leaving the apartment and rushed over before calling the police.
Bibi was later taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.