Trucker knifed to death during row over woman

Aug 04, 2014 News

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– assailant’s wife in police custody

A heated clash between two truck drivers at a popular bar in Itaballi, Mazaruni River on Saturday night over a woman who was reportedly dancing with the wrong partner, has left one dead.
Twenty seven year-old Wayne Johnson of Grand Sand Road, Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara received a single stab wound to his chest and was pronounced dead at the Bartica Hospital, where he was rushed hours later.
His assailant who is known as Andrew also called “Bang” or “Bubbler”, has eluded police, but his wife was arrested and is in police custody assisting with investigations.

Johnson’s body was brought to the city yesterday and is currently at the Lyken Funeral Parlour.
There are two versions of what transpired.
According to a resident of Itaballi, Johnson was having drinks at the Landing when the assailant and his wife confronted him.
The man accused Johnson of improperly dancing with his wife among other allegations, which led to a heated argument, during which Johnson was fatally stabbed.
“Bang wife went and caused a problem with Johnson and he turned her down or refused her in whatever she wanted. Then she went to her husband ‘Bang’ and told him that Johnson was molesting her, Bang then told her to go home,” the resident explained.
“Bang then took out a knife and approached Johnson with the accusations. This caused Johnson to run and he was cornered at the waterfront. Bang then stabbed Johnson once to the chest and ‘bubbled’ him under the water so no one could hear him scream. He was left for dead.”
But another resident reported that it was the other way around, since it was Johnson who had confronted the suspect, accusing him of interfering with his woman.
A relative of the dead man who spoke to this newspaper yesterday said that Johnson left his wife and two daughters at his Soesdyke home in April last to work as a truck driver in Itaballi.
The relative said that they were aware that Johnson shared a relationship with another woman at Itaballi, who is reportedly pregnant with his child.
“He has a really possessive woman at Itaballi. She is a nuisance and a determine woman, she knows a lot of people up there and this last time when he was suppose to come down Monday (today),  the woman did not want him to come down because she knows that he is married and has two children in Soesdyke,” the relative noted.
But an Itaballi resident dismissed suggestions that the woman that Johnson was involved with at Itabali had anything to do with his stabbing.
According to the resident Johnson’s girlfriend is pregnant and was not responsible for what happened to him, since she only learnt what happened after he was killed.
According to the man’s wife, Cheryl to whom he has been married for five years, she last heard from Johnson two days ago.
She also knows about the “other woman”.
“Saturday he called and was so excited to come home Monday (today). He wanted to see his children and buy presents and school stuff for them. Then he called back later and said he could not come out because like the woman he has in there was causing problems, since they were demanding $100,000 before he left and the woman family was blocking him from leaving,”  Mrs. Johnson told this newspaper.
She continued, “This woman knows he is married and has children and she keep stressing him out and I guess he was tired of it because whenever he has to come home here, she creates a big scene…this woman has more than one partner and he probably got tired of it which might have cause this to happen.”
Police have launched an all out manhunt for the suspect even employing the services of a helicopter to track him down in the dense bushes that surround the Interior community.
Residents believe that the lawmen would be hard pressed to track down the suspect who is known to be versed in survival in the jungle.
Residents in the area also visited the suspect’s home and found a makeshift bow and arrow.
“We believe that he had to escape into the bush without the arrow and bow, which would have assisted him in his survival in the forest, because people and the police were looking for him,” one resident stated.
“Imagine this man who is the killer is known in the area to have killed people before and they know that Johnson is now the fifth person he has killed so far! He is known as Andrew and is called ‘Bang’ and he is known to be a terror in the area, everybody is afraid of him. We hear that when Johnson get stab up, no one went to his assistance, because they know the kind of person ‘Bang’ is,” one of the dead man’s relatives emphasised.
“The same woman who Johnson get killed over, is the same woman we hear carrying food for the man who is in hiding, imagine that.”

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