Five-yr-old son may have witnessed attack on mother

Jul 06, 2011 News

Plaisance blaze…

Investigators on the East Coast of Demerara are yet to rule that the fire at Plaisance, which left two persons nursing serious burns, was an accident or an attempted murder, after the woman’s five-year-old son claimed that he saw his mother’s boyfriend throw a lighter on her.
Reports are that 22-year-old mother of four, Natasha Johnson, received third degree burns to her entire body while her boyfriend Delon Gordon, 19, was burnt to the face, hands and abdomen, after a loud explosion was heard at the couple’s Plaisance Squatting Area home.
Both were rushed to the Georgetown Hospital where doctors were desperately trying to save the woman’s life.

Four-month-old Ashley Gordon who escaped unhurt

She is presently on life support in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, while Gordon is in the Burn Care Unit at same institution.
The woman’s five-year-old son, who is now in the custody of his father, told Kaieteur News that he was awakened by his mother and Gordon arguing.
“I hear he and mommy arguing and then they start fighting….”the child told Kaieteur News.
According to the little child he saw Gordon throw a “watery substance” (doctors have opined that it might be gasoline) on his mother, then a lighter.
“I see he throw de water thing on mommy then he throw de lighter on her,” the child recounted.
In the presence of his grandmother and other relatives, the child related that the fire started to spread to the mosquito netting that he and his sister were under.
The five year old said that he grabbed his smaller sister and ran through the back door.
When contacted yesterday, police officials said they are still investigating and that the five-year-old’s statement is not “solid”.
Meanwhile, Kaieteur News was also told by a teacher at the child’s school, that on numerous occasions the child would complain about Gordon beating his mother in his presence.
“The little boy would always tell us that ‘Delon beat mommy’, we would try to talk to the mother but she would brush it off,” a source at the school said.
A female neighbour who lived a short distance away from the couple told Kaieteur News that she heard the couple arguing late on Sunday night. According to the woman, she didn’t take it for anything, since they would normally have their verbal spats.

Critical: Natasha Johnson

However seconds after hearing the argument the woman said she heard a loud explosion.
“All I hear is boom, like a bomb explode…and she run outside and say oh God he gun kill meh,” the neighbour explained. The young woman and Gordon were taken to the hospital by public-spirited persons.
Another neighbour, David Boodwah, told Kaieteur News that all he heard was a loud blast. He said neighbours ran to the blazing house and took the little boy and girl from the back step.
There are reports that the woman ran outside then back into the house for her three-month-old baby.
The baby escaped unhurt and is presently in the pediatric unit of the GPHC.
Yesterday, the woman’s sister, Carol Delph, was adamant that her sister was attacked by Gordon who was always in the habit of abusing the young mother.
According to Delph, it was just last month that her sister confided in her that Gordon was very abusive. Delph said when her sister was eight months pregnant, Gordon allegedly inflicted a beating on her that caused her to go into labour prematurely.