Latest update November 15th, 2024 1:00 AM
Ex-soldier slits wife’s throat then drinks poison
By Dale Andrews
The small farming community of Jonestown, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara is still coming to grips with the brutal murder of a 26-year-old woman whose husband later ingested poison to save himself from having to answer to man for her death.
Relatives and neighbours made the gruesome discovery of the semi-nude body of 26-year-old Vanessa Richmond-James with her hands and feet bound, and her throat slit, around 06:00 hours.
Vanessa Richmond-James and her husband Ryan James with their two year old son who was spared the mayhem.
This was minutes after her husband Ryan James, stumbled over to a neighbour seeking help after ingesting the poison.
Police are convinced that the ex-soldier killed his wife during a heated domestic spat, hours after they had left a queh-queh that took place in the community the previous night.
A press statement from Police Force headquarters said that at “about 06:00hours on Saturday, the body of Vanessa Richmond-James of Seventh Street, Jonestown, Mahaica, ECD, was found in her home with multiple stab wounds. Her reputed husband Ryan James, 30 years, who is the suspect in her death, is believed to have consumed poison and later succumbed.”
Minutes after the discovery scores of residents from the predominantly small-scale farming community flocked to the location, with many expressing shock that the lives of the young couple, who had been living together for about five years, had come to such a tragic end.
Neighbours believe that the act was premeditated since the husband had taken their two-year-old son to his fraternal grandmother’s home the night before the tragedy.
The dead woman’s father, Rudolph Richmond recalled that he was at the Mahaica Market, where he had taken produce from his cash crop farm to sell, when he received the devastating message that his daughter had been killed.
He also learnt that his son-in-law was taken to the hospital after ingesting some poison.
“When I come I see she hand tie up, she foot tie up (with a bed sheet and window blind), she face cover with a pillow and a blanket. She deh naked, only she panty she had on.” He advised that no one touch her body until the police arrive.
It was only when the police removed the pillow and blanket from his daughter’s face that Richmond realized that her throat had been slit. He subsequently learnt that she had been struck a blow on her head with a hammer which was recovered by investigators with samples of hair on it.
“Like they had a fight, and after he must be lash she pon she head. Like when she fall down is then he do de tying up,” Rudolph Richmond suggested.
Acting ‘C’ Division Commander Stephen Mansell (in black clothes) gathering evidence with other detectives at the scene yesterday.
The woman’s father who lives a stone’s throw from where the couple resided said that there was no indication that James and his wife were not having any problem that could have led to such an outcome.
“Up to last night (Friday) dem two went to ka-ka-lay. Is when he come home he do dat, because me lef home around 12:30 (am) fuh go at de market and sell, and at dat time dem didn’t come as yet,” Rudolph Richmond told this newspaper.
The dead man’s brother related that James took his son to their house in the neighbouring village of Hand en-Veldt, Mahaica on Friday night, telling them that he was going to the popular pre-marriage function.
The brother said that although James claimed that “everything was alright”, he had an uneasy feeling that there was trouble brewing. His unease was confirmed yesterday when he received a call from his brother’s neighbour, telling him that James had drank poison.
He rushed over to the neighbour’s house and found his brother on the landing, frothing from his mouth.
“He didn’t saying nothing. I fetch he down and try fuh pour egg down he throat, den I lef fuh get a taxi. But by time I come back with de taxi, another done carry he to de hospital,” the dead man’s brother recalled.
A neighbour, Shevlyn Leitch, told Kaieteur News that she was asleep when James came calling desperately at her front door.
“He come and he calling ‘Shevlyn! Shevlyn!’ I open de door and he seh, ‘ah drink poison!’ and dat was it, he ain’t say nothing more. He de frothing and I call he relatives and dem come and carry down de step and tek a taxi and carry he way,” Leitch stated.
From all indications the couple had gotten up early yesterday morning and was planning to go to the market with their produce from their kitchen garden, since freshly reaped callaloo and other greens were left on a table in their yard.
Apart from the hammer with hair samples, police recovered remnants of the poison that James drank.
Yesterday’s murder/suicide comes three days after a man hacked his two children to death and critically wounded his wife.
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