THE badly battered body of a woman was discovered in a barrel that was dumped inside of a trench at R and S Street, Belvedere, Corentyne, Berbice.

The woman was strangled with a bedsheet, tied around her neck.

Her face was smashed to the point that she was unrecognisable. There were several other marks of violence about her body.

The discovery was made by a resident who lives next to the trench where the body was found.

Harendra Yodan recalled he was eating when he began getting a pungent scent.

He said the stench was unbearable and he decided to check the drain to see if the foul smell was coming from there.

Much to his surprise, he noticed a foot protruding from a blue plastic barrel in the trench.

Yodan, who was visibly shaken, added that he noticed the strange barrel since Friday but did not pay much attention to it.

“The thing start smell bad, bad, so me tek the shovel stick and meh go out there and see one cloth outside the barrel.  When meh raise am, me see one foot hanging out,” he related.

At that point, he raised an alarm and neighbours called the police.

Police sources indicate that from all appearances, the woman was killed about three days ago. The body was swollen and her face was partially damaged.

Villager told Guyana Chronicle of a couple who moved into the neighbourhood about three months ago. They would usually engage in frequent quarrels and fights. One neighbour recalled seeing the couple on Thursday last; one of the two barrels the couple owns is missing.

Guyana Chronicle also understands that the suspect the police are pursuing did not show up to his place of work since Wednesday but, instead, went to the business premises and requested some money, claiming that he was going to a village on the Upper Corentyne.

The police are following a lead as investigation continues.