POLICE Commander of ‘F’ Division, Courtney Ramsay, said that three men were arrested on Tuesday night following the homicide of a Matthew’s Ridge resident, whose semi-nude body was found in the community centre ground by several schoolchildren on Tuesday morning.

The woman has been identified as 32-year-old Samantha Ashby of Pakera, a small community on the outskirts of Matthew’s Ridge, North West District, in Region 1 (Barima-Waini).
The senior superintendent disclosed that the men in custody are not from the area and are what residents called “Coastlanders”, who are mining in the “back dam” in Region 1.
He added that a post- mortem is expected today (Thursday) and the body is being stored at the Port Kaituma mortuary.
The woman, who is of Amerindian descent, was discovered in the playfield at Pakera by a group of children, who had showed up to practise for the upcoming school sports in that area.
The news was relayed to teachers, who informed the police after which a large crowd gathered to get a glimpse of the woman’s body.
It was reported by residents that the body was lying in plain sight in a semi-nude state, while her clothes were found nearby.
It was said to be the work of more than one person, who apparently lured the woman to the spot in a drunken state after which she was killed.
Ashby, 32, was seen in a shop in the village on Monday night imbibing with a group of men, who are said to be miners, after which her whereabouts were unknown.
She frequents the mining areas in the region and would spend some time before venturing back into the village; she was said to be in the habit of visiting bars and shops in the community, where she drank heavily.
Ashby had resided with several relatives including her grandfather, an uncle and her teenaged son in Pakera.
A resident said, “Even though she was “a lady of the night,” she did not deserve to endure such a horrible death.”
Villagers said they have never experienced such an incident and called on the police to find the person(s) responsible for such a gruesome murder.
Although the murder took place in an open field, no one reportedly heard any screams or saw anything amiss and assumed that it had happened in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
It was reported that the men arrested were observed drinking in the same shop as Ashby on Monday night.
Police said the woman’s body was found in a clump of bushes at Matthew’s Ridge, NWD, at about 10:45 hrs on September 16, 2014.
Investigations are in progress.

(Michel Outridge)