A 78-YEAR-OLD man of Crabwood Creek, Corentyne, Berbice, was found dead in his hammock by family members and a neighbour on Tuesday night. The man’s body was found with wounds to the head and a plastic cuff around his throat. Dead is Khublall Gomes of Grant 1651 Backlands, Crabwood Creek Backlands. He was discovered around 21:30hrs by his nephew-in-law ‘Turbo’, ‘Turbo’s wife and another neighbour.

The man’s neighbour, Sasaran Bhajan called ‘Tavo’, said that ‘Turbo’ would usually call on the pensioner whenever he came home, but received no response when he called out to Gomes that night. After repeated calls to Gomes did not draw a response, they noticed that the man’s front gate was open, though he usually kept it closed. Concerned, Tavo said that they then ventured into the premises with a flashlight to investigate.

“Me come home from Mela and Turbo and he wife come and call me say the old man nah answer and he front gate open if me see or hear from him,” Bhajan said, “so me come out with one flashlight and we go ova. As we reach we see the man in the hammock and me seh look he deh in the hammock like he sleep way. So we walk over fuh wake he and then as we get closer we see bare blood on he skin; so we jump back and seh like the man dead. So we call them other neighbour and somebody call the police.”

Bhajan continued that they noticed a plastic strapped around his throat and could see he had injuries to his head. He related that the hammock was soaked with what appeared to be the victim’s blood. The police arrived and checked the house and related that Gomes’s licensed shotgun was missing. Gomes is said to have been in the house alone for the past three weeks after his reputed wife left for a visit to Suriname with her son.

‘Turbo’ related that Gomes’s wife ‘Prabo’ did not want to go to Suriname, but gave in to her son’s insistence. According to a police source, three men – including ‘Turbo’ – are in police custody assisting with investigations. The three men are said to all be relatives of ‘Prabo’.The neighbours are now fearful that a similar fate may await them and are calling on the authorities to be vigilant. The home is located in the last street from the public road and the area is said to have a lot of empty lots with overgrown bushes.

Gomes was described as a very helpful person who was hard-working. Bhajan recalled that a few weeks ago, ‘Turbo’ had an eye surgery. He stated that Gomes came over every other day to help him and took care of his garden for him. He said Gomes even took Turbo’s produce to the market and brought the money to him. Gomes was said to have been living in the community for the past 15 years and is a father of four children who reside overseas. He and the mother of his children are separated and he was said to have been living with ‘Prabo’ (his wife) for the past 10 years. Neighbours said the two never had any fights or quarrels and were always seen as a very happy couple.

Gomes’s body was taken to the the Skeldon Hospital Mortuary and is awaiting a PME as the investigations continue.