A LINDEN couple checked into The Shack hotel at Norton Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown yesterday morning, and just over half an hour later, the woman escaped from the room to report that her companion had tried to strangle her.

Shortly after 09:00 hrs, hotel staffers accompanied the woman to Room 12, on the third floor of the edifice, the door was kicked down when the police were summoned; and the man, identified as Egerton Grant, 33, was found motionless in bed.

He is believed to have ingested rat poison after his failed attempt to strangle the woman, whom he had invited to the hotel to resolve their relationship issues.

The couple had reportedly intended to spend the day at the hotel, but things became uncontrollable after they had a quarrel; and the man, realising that the relationship was in jeopardy, attempted to strangle the woman. She, however, managed to escape after hitting him in the mid-section, and fled the room to alert hotel staffers of the incident. The police were summoned, and eventually arrived.

The woman was, nevertheless, taken into custody to assist with investigations.

Eyewitnesses said the man’s body also had a cut to the neck, which they believe was self-inflicted.

During a visit to the hotel yesterday, a staffer in the bar, located on the ground floor of the three-storey building, said that only the bar was open for business. She admitted that the incident had temporarily closed the hotel, since most employees were still in shock, and had left for their respective homes.