A 39-year-old mason, was, on Friday, remanded to prison for the murder of his reputed wife, Parbattie Amanda Persaud, who was allegedly beaten to death with a piece of wood during a domestic altercation.

Gurudeen Lalaram appeared at the Leonora Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul and was not required to plead to the capital offence which alleged that he murdered his reputed wife on December 31, 2023, at Parika, East Bank Essequibo.

He was remanded to prison until February 2, 2024.

The police had reported that the couple had shared a common-law relationship for the past six years and have a three-year-old daughter. During the relationship, the victim was allegedly abused by Lalaram, but the matter was never reported to the police since they opted to deal with the problems internally.

“About three weeks ago, the couple had a misunderstanding and, as a result, they had an exchange of words, and she was assaulted by the suspect. The suspect then moved out of the house.

“At about [sic] 05:00hrs this morning, the now-deceased woman was walking down [the] Parika access road heading towards the market, when the suspect approached her on an electric scooter, after which a heated argument ensued between them.

The suspect came off of the scooter, picked up a piece of wood from the roadside and dealt the victim one lash to her head, causing her to fall to the ground. He then stood over her and dealt her several lashes to her face with the wood, causing her to bleed profusely,” police said in a press statement [last Friday]

It added that the entire ordeal was recorded by a resident in the area.

The suspect dropped the wood and made good his escape on the scooter. He stopped a short distance away and hid in a clump of bushes.

“The police were immediately summoned by residents in the area, and two police patrols responded to the scene where, on arrival, the area where the suspect was hiding was identified. He was arrested by the ranks and escorted to [the] Parika Police Station, along with the suspected murder weapon,” the statement added.

Ranks picked up Persaud, who was slipping in and out of consciousness at the time, with visible wounds to her face and conveyed her to the Leonora Cottage Hospital.

She was rushed to the Emergency Room where she succumbed to her injuries.