Port Kaituma victims laid to rest, alleged killer transferred to GPHC

Mar 19, 2014 News

Port Kaituma residents, many of them in tears, crammed the Christ Crusaders Assembly Church yesterday to bid farewell to the victims of last Friday’s gruesome arson/murder.

Murder suspect Lenus La Cruz at the Ogle Airport yesterday en route to the GPHC.

But the service had to be shifted to a playfield after a section of the church floor collapsed.
Among the mourners were students from the Port Kaituma Primary and Secondary schools. The lone survivor, 12-year-old Lisa La Cruz, was also present.
Prior to the funeral service, the two white caskets containing the remains were placed in front of the burnt-out building which suspect Lenus La Cruz allegedly set fire with his family inside.
The victims were laid to rest at the Oronoque, Port Kaituma burial ground.
Earlier in the day, a heavily-shackled and dazed-looking Lenus La Cruz was transferred from Port Kaituma to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
He was subsequently admitted to the hospital’s Burns Unit, where he lay silently staring at the ceiling, while two plainclothes police ranks stood guard.
It is alleged that La Cruz doused his heavily-grilled home at Port Kaituma with petrol on Friday night before setting it alight with his wife, Lurlene La Cruz, 39, their daughters, Lea La Cruz, 14; Lavette LaCruz; sons Labron LaCruz, 8, and one-year-old Levon LaCruz inside.
From reports received by Kaieteur News, last Friday night’s tragedy started when the 50-year old businessman, who was under the influence of alcohol, began to scream and curse while claiming that persons owed him money.
Kaieteur News was told that his wife, Lurlene McTurk-LaCruz, was in the habit of securing herself and children in a bedroom whenever Mr. La Cruz was in one of his drunken rages.
On Friday night, she reportedly again locked herself and her five children, including Lisa La Cruz, in the bedroom.
It is alleged that Mr. La Cruz went out of the building and switched his generator on and off. He then returned inside and began to bang on the bedroom door and demand that his wife open it.
When she refused, he allegedly shouted, “I going for the gas.”
Kaieteur News was told that Mr. La Cruz had made previous threats to burn his house down, but because he had never carried them out, the family apparently did not take his threats seriously.

Mourners at the Port Kaituma playground.

However, this time, the businessman reportedly began pouring fuel into the bedroom via a barred window.
A relative told Kaieteur News that it was then that Mrs. La Cruz instructed her 12-year-old daughter to go to the Port Kaituma Police Station and the child then fled from the building.
But according to a source who spoke to the 12-year-old, the rank who took the report told the child “Tell your stepfather that (name given) say to come to the station.”
The 12-year-old told the rank, “You not listening,” and again explained that Mr. La Cruz was threatening to torch his home.
It is alleged that the rank again said: “Tell your stepfather that—say to come to the station.”
The child returned home but by then the building was on fire. She reportedly then alerted other residents who tried in vain to douse the flames and free the victims from the heavily-grilled building.