Ryan James, who murdered his wife at their Jonestown, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, home on Saturday morning after which he ingested a poisonous substance and succumbed, was laid to rest yesterday after a funeral service at his parents’ Hand-en-Veldt residence, also on the East Coast of Demerara.

Mother of the murdered woman, Sheila Lewis told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday that she would not be attending the funeral of her late son-in-law but her children and others would.

The grieving woman added that she would like to have custody of her grandson, who was left in the care of James’ family and after the funerals she intend to care for the child in memory of her daughter.

Meanwhile, murdered mother of one, Vanessa Richmond-James, 26, of Lot 125 Jonestown, Mahaica, will be buried today.

She was a housewife and had been married to Ryan James, 30, for two years but they were in a relationship for more than 10 years.

During the marriage, according to reports, James often accused his wife of infidelity and that would spark a quarrel which led to many fights in which Vanessa was abused.

The woman documented the abuse in a notebook she had kept and which was retrieved by her family members following her murder.

At about 06:00 hrs on Saturday morning the body of Vanessa Richmond-James was found with her feet and hands bound, her mouth stuffed with pieces of cloth, and she was only in her underwear with a pillow over her head on a mattress in the living room of their one-storey, wooden rented house.

She had been stabbed, her throat slit and beaten on the head with a hammer after they had returned home from a wedding celebration on Saturday night.

After committing the act, Ryan James ingested a poisonous liquid and made his way to a neighbour’s house where he collapsed after telling them that he drank poison.

Relatives of both Vanessa and James were notified and it was then Vanessa’s body was found while James was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.