-says Bartica Mayor, as the town grapples with a recent case of domestic violence

ON Friday evening, the town of Bartica was plunged into a state of shock, after a 37-year-old woman was brutally killed by her husband at the town’s airstrip.

In expressing condolences to the woman’s family, Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall stated, “On behalf of the municipality, the Town Council and the councillors, I want to express my deepest sympathy and condolences to the deceased’s family.”

Describing what transpired on that evening as a traumatizing event, Mayor Marshall stated that he has full confidence that the ranks of the Bartica Police Station and the commander-in-charge will investigate and ensure that the perpetrator in the case will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

“What transpired on the evening of that day traumatized all of us and we can understand, with much pain, what the family is going through. With that being said, we have every confidence that the Bartica police and the commander will investigate and bring the [perpetrator] to justice. I am certain justice will prevail in this matter” he stated.

In an appeal to the general public and those who may be in similar situations, Mayor Marshall stated, “In these situations, actions have consequences and the consequences many times don’t just affect the individuals involved but it affects the entire community like what we see is happening now and I want to use this opportunity to call on our males to let us respect our women and let us treat them as our mothers, our sisters; let us treat those who we love the way we ought to.”

Adding that persons should report matters of domestic violence or seek counselling to avoid such violent outcomes, Marshall stated that persons can overcome any domestic challenges through conversation, mutual respect and love which, he believes, is the foundation of every relationship.

“Any challenge or any crisis can be overcome through mutual dialogue, through respect and through the foundation of any relationship which is love. We can’t afford to have our women being murdered, we can’t afford for them to be abused, we can’t afford for our children to grow up in communities without parents,” he stated.

He further added that it is the children who are left to mourn, and who are the victims in the current situation. “In this particular case, we have two children….what they experienced on that day is with them for life and we can’t afford for our children to be having those experiences as that can cause major breakdown in our society and our morals.”

Natoya Speede, the woman who was brutally murdered, was a schoolteacher and a mother of two. According to reports, around 20:00hrs on Friday the suspect took the woman and her two children to a desolate area along a trail leading to the Bartica airstrip.

On the way, the two were embroiled in an argument and the assailant attacked the woman with an axe. The woman’s two children fled the scene.

The suspect was later found with what are believed to be self-inflicted wounds, in an alleged attempt to kill himself.
The man was admitted to a hospital in Region Seven and remains under police guard as investigations are ongoing.