Three Guyanese found dead in Ontario home

Mar 18, 2014 News

Brampton, Canada – Jerry Pitamber’s life changed forever the instant he got home after a shift at his family’s restaurant on Monday to find his parents and brother poisoned by carbon monoxide.
His father, Peter, well-known in Brampton’s West Indian community and longtime owner of Calypso Hut, was lying on the floor and could not be roused.

Terry, 36, and his mother, Seeta Pitamber were discovered dead.

Jerry, right, found his dad, Peter along with his mother and brother dead in their Brampton home from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.

His mother, Seeta, was in bed, as was his older brother, Terry. He heard a slow beeping, which he later realized was the carbon monoxide detector. His uncle Paul, also staying in the home, was awake and trying to help but kept wobbling and fell over several times.
“Everybody was just knocked out,” Pitamber said. His parents and brother had no vital signs. He phoned 911 at 1:54 a.m.
“I tried to save them all. I couldn’t,” he said from inside Calypso Hut, which was closed to the public but serving as a gathering place for loved ones as the news spread. Peter, 60, Seeta, 59, and Terry, 36, were pronounced dead Monday.
“I was only able to save my uncle. I picked him up and brought him outside. He kept falling … I tried to pick my mom up, too, but I couldn’t do it.”
He said his father brought propane heaters into the home on Linden Crescent in Brampton after the furnace broke down Sunday and turned them on around 9:30 p.m. Temperatures in the GTA dipped down to -15C overnight.
Brampton Fire said the deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning but the investigation continues because the detectors were working at the time, according to Peel Regional Police.
Peter’s brother, Paul, and a family friend were staying at the home temporarily to grieve the death of the family matriarch.
Both men were briefly hospitalized but are expected to recover.
“We just buried my grandma two weeks ago,” Pitamber said. A large wake was held at Calypso Hut, and one is planned for his parents and brother there later this week.

The Pitamber home

He and Terry were born in Canada but their parents were born in Guyana, family members say. They moved to Canada around three decades ago and the first Calypso Hut location opened in 1987 in Toronto. Peter opened his Brampton location on Queen Street in 1993.
Friends say the restaurant is popular for its Guyanese-style Chinese food. Art prints depicting tropical scenes hang on the walls and cricket trophies are displayed in a glass case, along with donor plaques from Sick Kids Foundation, Peel Region’s Ascension of Our Lord secondary school and Guyana’s Bush Lot Vendanta Academy.
Peter was a friend to everyone and a family man, said regular customer Kameel Rahim, who said he visited the restaurant every other day.
“He never left anyone out, you always felt welcome,” he said, predicting a packed house for the funeral. “You’ll probably think it’s for a prime minister,” he said.
After his shift at the restaurant, Terry — who was mentally challenged and described as a “cute kid” at 36 by staff member, Rubina Nandalall — was dropped off at home by his aunt, Dolly Rampersaud. There had been a 25-person birthday party at the restaurant, which wrapped up around midnight. His uncle let him inside.
On Monday, as a television blared the news, Calypso Hut began filling up with extended family and friends comforting each other. Pitamber was at a loss for words.
“I love them, they’re gone. I don’t know what else to say.”