A Graham Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara shopkeeper was fatally stabbed early on Monday morning by a neighbour who allegedly accused her of rearing a monkey which stole from his property.

Dead is Sharon Burnett, 53, a mother of three who was killed on her birthday.

Reports are that the stabbing took place sometime after midnight on Sunday and according to persons at the scene, the suspect was intoxicated when he attacked the woman at her Lot 47, Graham Street home.He has since been detained.

Warren Burnett, brother of the victim, explained that he was awakened by his nephew-in-law who alerted him that something was amiss.

“I was sleeping and her son-in-law come and called me and said Warren come, Samuel do something to your sister. So I put on a pants and run outside and I saw her lying in front of the shop with a stab wound straight to her stomach and this fridge was on fire,” he said.

Residents said they are of the view that the suspect set on fire a fridge that sits outside of the shop in an effort to get his victim to exit the structure as she was not known to come of the shop once she locked up the business place.

Her brother related that after he came on the scene, he called the police who responded promptly and arrested the suspect who was still in his yard next door.

“Friday night around eight to eight thirty he came lashing down the counter telling her that she has a monkey that she minding and that is does go into his house and thief things; thief he money and bring it over to our house, my sister don’t have no money that is a strange monkey that does go at everybody house,” the woman’s brother said.

Warren said while he was in the Plaisance Market on Saturday he saw the suspect behaving disorderly and even threatening to murder someone. That prompted Warren to urge his sister to lodge a report with the police. It is unclear if she ever did.

The bereaved brother recalled that his sister and the suspect were very good friends and that the man would even take money to her at times for her to keep for him. He claimed ignorance as to what went wrong between the two that fractured their friendship but he believes it may be tied to the drinking habit of the murder suspect.

Police are investigating.