By Shirley Thomas

THE body of a 62-year-old Guyana-born American citizen was last Friday found dead in her Landover Hills home in Maryland, bearing marks of violence, King George’s County Police have said. Dead is Lenise Fredericks, formerly of 245 Luckhoo Street, Lodge Housing Scheme, where she (an only child) lived with her mother, Mrs Beaulah Fredericks before migrating to the United States of America about 25 years ago.
Prince George’s County police said the 62-year-old Fredericks was discovered dead inside the home located in the 4000 block of 71st Avenue around 18:00 hrs Friday, after they were called to her house for a welfare check.
When found, she was suffering from trauma to her upper body, and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Meanwhile, Prince George’s County Police have since arrested a man, Robert James Crosby, in connection with Fredericks’s death. Police said Crosby and Fredericks were neighbours and that the motive was robbery.
Police confirmed that Crosby, 61, also of Landover Hills, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and robbery. He is being held on a no-bond status.
Meanwhile, the dead woman’s husband, Russel Mangal, devastated on making the discovery, told her relatives that he had just finished working and was waiting for her to pick him up. They would both drive home.
However, after not seeing nor hearing from her, he made a few calls but they went unanswered. Mangal said he eventually decided on taking a bus home and on entering the home, he got the shock of his life. His wife was lying dead on the floor.
The distraught husband said he immediately thought that she might have suffered a heart attack and so he called the PGC Police. On arriving, they examined the body and also searched the house. That is when they broke the shocking news to him that his wife had been murdered.
The husband began to scream and immediately phoned the caregiver taking care of his mother-in-law who also lives in the United States.
But the hardest three days later and they are still pondering how to break the news to his 96-year-old mother-in-law who in the meantime is daily asking “Where is Lenise? Why isn’t she coming to see me? She never does that.”
Meanwhile, all plans being made by Lenise to host a surprise 96th birthday party for her mother on August 3 have been shattered. Back in Guyana, her only surviving aunt, Beryl Godette, and her husband Dr Lloyd Godette are devastated by the news but are trying to stay strong.
Lenise Fredericks, while in Guyana, was employed at the University of Guyana as a Cartographer,at Lands and Surveys and finally at the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission after securing her Master’s Degree in Holland.