The Mysterious Butcher of Bartica

May 27, 2012 Features / Columnists, Murder and Mystery

---

 

 

 

By Michael Jordan

 

If, by some good fortune, you were to pass through Bartica, you would be left with pleasant memories of strikingly beautiful women, boats moored on a still, mist-shrouded river, hospitable people hanging out at night-spots, and good-natured porkknockers quick to offer total strangers a drink or two.
So, you would surely never associate this community, the proverbial gateway to the community, with a shocking unsolved double-murder.
It’s been well nigh close to 30 years since an unknown killer, whom we shall call the ‘Butcher of Bartica’, slaughtered two innocents in a Second Avenue backyard and badly maimed a third.
Let me take you back to February 1983, to the home of Lucille Ingram.
At the time, Ingram was a pretty, 25-year-old widow. Her husband, Oliver, had died suddenly after being bitten by a snake in the family’s backyard. The superstitious might suggest that the way Oliver died was a sign of things to come.
With her husband dead, it was left to the young widow to take care of her three children; Andy Ingram, aged five, Henry Ingram, nine, and Lucille’s only daughter, 12-year-old Lynette.
Fortunately, Mrs. Ingram reared a few cows and chickens, and this brought in enough income to sustain the family.
On February 23, 1983, the young mother decided to purchase a few things for her children to celebrate the Mash holiday. After instructing them to check on the cows and poultry, Lucille Ingram left her home at around five o’clock that afternoon. She promised to return with treats for them.
Ingram returned about 30 minutes later and on entering her yard, immediately sensed that something was wrong.  For one thing, the children did not greet her at the gate, as was their habit.  After calling and getting no answer, Mrs. Ingram went over to her next door neighbour, since the children would sometimes play under a dunks tree in the backyard. But the children were not there, so Mrs. Ingram returned home. The front door was unlocked and when   the young mother entered, she almost stumbled over something on the floor. Lying just by the doorway was her 12-year-old daughter. The child lay motionless in a pool of blood. Someone had slashed her throat.
Miraculously, she was still alive.
Lucille Ingram screamed. Her cries brought neighbours racing over to her home. While some tended to the injured child, others began searching for the woman’s two sons. They eventually found them in the family’s backyard.
Nine-year-old Henry lay in a clump of bushes, his intestines protruding from a gaping wound. Five–year-old Sandy lay a few feet away. Someone had chopped him on the head. Both boys were dead.
While the bodies of the two murdered boys were taken to the Bartica Hospital mortuary, their wounded sister was air-dashed to the Georgetown Public Hospital. Miraculously, she survived, though she reportedly still bears the scar from her ordeal.  It was she who would provide detectives with the few vague clues of the killer’s identity.
According to the girl’s story, after her mother left, a man, who was armed with a cutlass, entered the house. The intruder was reportedly masked and his head was ‘tied up.’ She said that the man began to chop her. It is unclear whether he attacked the other two children first. According to Mrs. Ingram, nothing was stolen. She also says that no one had any motive for wanting to harm the family.
“I had no enemies…me and everybody alright.”
After some investigation, detectives arrested a young man who Mrs. Ingram described as “Mrs. Wyatt’s son from One Mile.” It is unclear why he was arrested.
Some Barticans said that “Wyatt’s son” worked with the power company and was prone to acting strangely. According to Bartica lore, the man had several wigs and knives in his possession when he was arrested. Whether this was so, detectives were unable to link him to the murders and he was eventually released.
Lucille Ingram says she eventually gave up hope of the killer ever being caught and has tried to move on. But memories of her murdered children and of their killer haunt her. She became afraid to stay in her house and eventually moved to Georgetown. Her daughter moved to Berbice.
Three decades after that fateful day, both women are left with memories of a shadowy figure that entered their lives, slaughtered their loved ones…and vanished.

If you have any information about this or any other unusual case, please contact Kaieteur News by letter or telephone at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown offices. Our numbers are 22-58465, 22-58473 and 22-58458. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email address [email protected].

---

---