Actor’s throat slit on seawall

Nov 26, 2009 News

The gruesome murder of popular local actor, Joel Fraser, has sent shockwaves throughout the city, especially among his colleagues.

Fraser’s body was discovered lying in a pool of blood on the Liliendaal Seawall, aback of the Ocean View International Hotel by early morning joggers.

His throat was slit and his face bore numerous stab wounds. He was killed sometime Tuesday night.

Police believe that Fraser, called ‘Sweets’, 40 of Laing Avenue was murdered at the very spot where his body was found.

They recovered a blood stained rock from the scene.

Fraser, who was also a vendor at the Bourda Market, was last seen alive late Tuesday night by other vendors.

However, no one could come up with a possible motive for his brutal slaying.

His mother, Florizel Fraser, told this newspaper that she last saw her son on Monday.

She said that while her son lives with her he would normally spend most of his time by his girlfriend.

The girlfriend she was referring to was another Bourda Market vendor who when contacted, said she and Fraser had discontinued their relationship about two years ago.

Mrs. Fraser said that she learnt of her son’s death when friends of his came to her home with the tragic news.

“Look how they damaged my son, my only son is destroyed. I couldn’t cry,” the woman said.

A few days ago she had a premonition that something tragic was about to happen.

“I had a strange dream and my interpretation was something like this happening. I felt it was either he (Joel) or the other little boy (adopted son),” Mrs. Fraser said.

“I pray to God that my son’s death brings an end to these killings in Guyana,” she added.

His adopted brother, Paul Bishop, said that there was no indication that the popular actor was involved in anything illegal. Neither did he hear of any threats to his life.

“Me ain’t know about any threats They got a lot of suspicions but you could never tell which one it is. But justice must prevail one way or the other,” Bishop stated.

Maria Benschop, producer of the popular “Nothing to laugh about”, a satirical show in which Fraser was integrally involved, told this newspaper that she saw him alive for the last time early Tuesday night.

Mrs. Benschop said that Fraser was her Production Manager and they were in the height of preparing for a performance in Berbice some time next month.

According to Benschop, Fraser left rehearsals for the ‘Nothing to laugh about’ show to attend rehearsals for another comedy show in which he was scheduled to perform at the National Cultural Centre last night (Wednesday).

“He called me at about 12:15 (after midnight) and said that he was at the market, making arrangements to have the banner for the show taken up for display in Berbice. I called him back about an hour later but while talking to him my phone ran out of credit,” Benschop said.

She explained that at around 7:30 hours yesterday she received a telephone call from a female informing her that Fraser was dead.

She immediately took a taxi and headed to the scene where she confirmed the report she had received.

While investigators did not have Benschop as a suspect, they briefly detained her at the Sparendaam Police Station after a misunderstanding over the signing of a statement.

Kaieteur News understands that Mrs. Benschop had objected to some of the contents in a statement that the police had written upon her dictation.

“When I saw the one that they wrote and asked me to sign, I objected. I wanted to write my own statement. They wanted me to sign the one they wrote and I was uncomfortable with that,” Benschop told this newspaper.

She was subsequently placed on the ‘bench’ where she remained for several hours until her attorney arrived.

Benschop later prepared her own statement, which she gave to investigators and was duly sent away.

Fraser’s death will certainly affect the hosting of ‘Nothing to laugh about’, since according to Mrs. Benschop, he cannot be replaced.

“There is no way that I can direct it (show) or find an actor to fill his shoes. I will have to cancel all the planned shows,” she said.

Police are expected to questions several more persons including another female acquaintance of Fraser as they desperately try to crack the case.

Fraser’s murder is the 18th so far for this year on the East Coast of Demerara compared with 32 for the corresponding period last year.

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Actor’s throat slit on seawall

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Related

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The Glenn Lall Show|| February, 10th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

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Features/Columnists

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