Husband
of
murder
victim
held
after
suspicious
robbery
By
Michel
Outridge
PREPARATIONS
for
the
festive
season
by
a
city
family
were
shattered
Sunday
night
when
Shenese
Austin,
nicknamed
‘Bucky’,
25,
was
stabbed
to
death
during
a
robbery
at
her
502
West
Ruimveldt
Housing
Scheme,
Georgetown
home.
The
hairdresser
had
returned
to
the
house
just
minutes
before
and
was
enjoying
a
fast
food
meal
when
four
gunmen
barged
into
the
place.
Recounting
the
incident,
Rayana
Haynes,
18,
sister
of
the
dead
woman,
told
the
Guyana
Chronicle
she
went
to
answer
a
caller
at
the
gate
to
their
small
roadside
shop.
DEAD:
Shenese
Austin
She
said
a
man
wanted
to
buy
two
cigarettes
with
a
$500
bill
and
she
was
about
to
deliver
the
order
when
the
gunmen
confronted
her,
barged
inside
and
snatched
a
chain
off
her
neck.
The
teenager
said
she
was
commanded
to
remain
quiet
and
one
gunman
kept
guard
over
her
while
an
accomplice
took
a
knife
from
the
kitchen
and
ventured
into
her
sister’s
bedroom.
Haynes
said
her
head
was
down
on
a
chair
with
a
gun
pointed
at
her
when
she
heard
Shenese
scream.
She
said
three
of
the
four
attackers
were
masked
and
they
spent
about
20
minutes
ransacking
her
sibling’s
room.
Their
mother
was
asleep
in
another
bedroom
but
was
awakened
by
the
screams
and
lashed
with
a
gun
as
she
attempted
to
get
out
of
her
bed.
Haynes
said
the
men
spent
most
of
the
time
in
the
dead
victim’s
room
from
where
she
shouted
for
help
but
could
not
have
been
assisted.
She
said
the
gunmen
took
away
some
jewels,
a
DVD
player
and
the
day’s
sales
from
the
shop
they
operate
before
escaping
on
two
motorcycles
that
were
waiting
for
them.
“When
the
bandits
left,
I
went
to
my
sister’s
room
and
saw
her
lying
on
the
ground
in
a
pool
of
blood
but
she
was
still
alive,”
Haynes
said.
The
wounded
woman
was
rushed
to
Georgetown
Public
Hospital
(GPH)
but
died
some
hours
later,
during
a
surgical
operation.
She
had
suffered
a
slashed
throat
and
several
stabs
in
the
face
and
about
her
body,
including
her
stomach.
The
dead
woman’s
husband,
a
taxi
driver,
is
in
Police
custody
as
investigations
continue.
He
was
arrested
shortly
following
her
death
after
family
members
told
investigators
of
numerous
death
threats
he
had
made
to
Shenese.
They
said
Shenese
reported
to
the
Police
several
times
but
the
suspect
was
never
detained.
According
to
them,
Shenese
moved
out
of
the
home
she
shared
with
him,
some
four
months
ago,
after
their
marriage
and
was
staying
at
West
Ruimveldt.
They
said
she
was
subjected
to
severe
beatings
in
the
abusive
relationship
and
survived
an
attempt
to
drown
her.
“He
said,
if
he
can’t
get
her,
no
one
can
and
he
would
slit
her
throat
and
damage
her
face
and
that’s
how
she
died,”
relatives
claimed.
They
said
Shenese
found
out
that
her
husband
was
unfaithful
and
had
fathered
a
child
outside
of
wedlock
and
the
marriage
took
a
turn
for
the
worse.
Family
members
said
her
husband
was
very
jealous
and
often
beat
her
in
public
and
she
once
had
to
be
rescued
by
public-spirited
citizens
from
a
hit
and
run
attempt.
They
believe
the
robbery
was
staged
to
accomplish
the
killing
on
her
husband’s
orders.
Relatives
disclosed
that,
even
before
Shenese
died,
the
suspect
made
the
announcement
prior
to
his
arrival
at
the
hospital.
She
was
described
as
a
caring
and
peaceful
person,
working
from
home
because
of
fear
of
her
husband.
The
bloody
kitchen
knife
used
to
kill
Shenese
was
retrieved
by
the
Police
and
nearby
residents
reported
they
had
observed
the
alleged
killers,
who
asked
for
directions
to
the
house,
lurking
in
the
area
earlier
Sunday
night.
Tuesday,
December
16,
2008
