AN obviously unperturbed Gwendolyn Persaud, 46, of Diamond New Housing Scheme was yesterday remanded to prison after she appeared before Magistrate Ann McLennon charged with the murder of her husband, Nathan Andrew Persaud, 47, of Herstelling, East Bank Demerara.The woman, a shopkeeper, was unrepresented and did not seem to have much family support during her appearance. She was not required to plea to the indictable charge which stated that on September 10, at Herstelling, she murdered Nathan Andrew Persaud.

The court was told that the woman made an arrangement, whereby she promised money to another in consideration for him to cause the death of her husband. She is to return to court on October 3 for a report.
As the woman kept a smile on her face while the charge of murder was being read in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, at another location, her children, mother-in-law and other relatives had tears trickling down their cheeks as they said goodbye to Nathan Andrew Persaud, who was laid to rest yesterday.
At the time the woman was in court, the body of her husband was being moved to three different locations along the East Bank Demerara, including the home where he was killed, which is the property that is in dispute, and another home his parents own in a lower East Bank Demerara community.
At the Herstelling house, family members and friends gathered to pay their respects to the man they said had fought to the bitter end to ensure that his sons were comfortable.
Meanwhile, the man who was hired by the estranged wife to murder her husband is still on the run even as police continue to collect intelligence that should cause them to arrest him soon. Once arrested, the man will also be brought before the court and charged with murder, according to police sources.
During an interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday, one of the woman’s sons said that what his mother did to his father was very messed up but he would have to find it in his heart someday to forgive her so that he can be able to live in peace.
On Saturday the woman confessed to the police that she did hire a hitman to eliminate her husband after he expressed confidence that he was going to win a property dispute that the two were having in court and then he would ensure that she is placed on the streets.
The dead man’s mother said that the death of her son was something that she will have a hard time coming to grips with since the woman who hired the hitman was once treated like her own daughter. The woman said that what her daughter-in-law did was very heartbreaking for her.
The police also have in their custody a niece of the woman who by her own admission is familiar with the hitman as he showed up at the Diamond property to visit her and was discussing money issues to travel outside of Guyana when Gwendolyn Persaud overheard and approached him with the offer to kill the man.
On Thursday of last week Nathan Persaud was murdered in his home after the hitman clubbed him to death while he was home alone.

By Leroy Smith