“I’ll do it again, if I had to”

May 22, 2017 News

– says Linden businessman who tried to save Shenika London

By Enid Joaquin

“If I had to do it again I would, because helping people is what I love to do, and no devil in hell can stop me from doing that!”
Strong words coming from a man of integrity and wisdom.
That man is Steve Simon, of Lot 1205 Central Amelia’s Ward, who valiantly tried to save the life of his neighbor Shenika Elliot London, by rushing her to the Linden Hospital Complex, after she was stabbed multiple times by her husband last Friday.
Simon’s photograph was inadvertently presented as that of the alleged killer Michael London, in Saturday’s edition of this newspaper.

Steve Simon, the neighbor who made heroic efforts to save Shenika Elliot-London

Simon in an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News, posited,
“This thing has taken a toll on me because I tried my best to assist the young woman, who could have died at my gate. I got another neighbor and we took her to the hospital; so you could imagine my shock, when relatives and friends started calling me up to find out what was going on because they had seen my picture on the front page with the name of the killer.
“This has brought myself and family much grief to know that this is the end result.”
Simon, who had known the victim ever since she was a little girl, said that he was very happy to have been of assistance; but now that assistance has turned to distress, since his picture has circulated ‘’all over the world’’, as the man who killed Shenika Elliot- London.
Simon said that the photograph was taken while he was at the Mackenzie Police Station waiting to give a statement.
London, who had escaped the scene, was subsequently captured by police in the Moblissa jungle, where he had fled, that very afternoon.
After the brutal attack Shenika London had stumbled over to Simon’s house to seek help; collapsing at his gate after writing the word “husband’’ in the sand along with a telephone number.

Shenika London

Alleged killer Michael London

She was subsequently rushed to the hospital by Simon and another neighbour. Simon said that they had “raced” to the hospital in their efforts to get urgent medical attention for the woman.
“If you see how we speed down the road; not even thinking about traffic police or anything. All we de focusing on was getting help for this woman,” Simon recalled.
However despite their valiant efforts London succumbed to her injuries.
Simon, who has been a joiner for over three decades, said that one of the things that he is most concerned about is, what the “stigma” of being in the papers with the name of a murder suspect could do to his business. Despite all that however, he swears he would do it all over again.
Michael London, who is likely to be charged today, has given investigators a detailed statement in which he blamed his wife’s alleged infidelity for the killing, and portrayed himself as the victim of said infidelity..
The suspect, who is a pork-knocker, claimed that he first met Shenika in the interior. At the time, she had four children, whom she was reportedly supporting single-handedly.
He claimed that he decided to “make her his wife”, but that after the marriage, Shenika, who sold clothing in “the bush”, was constantly unfaithful to him. He alleged that she then wanted to end the relationship. Kaieteur News understands that the suspect and his wife were living on the East Coast of Demerara, but that Shenika moved to Amelia’s Ward, Linden.
Her relatives allege that she moved to escape from her husband’s constant physical abuse.
But Michael London is said to have claimed that he flew into a rage on Saturday and killed his spouse after she humiliated him about the paternity of the last child, which was said to be his.
The youngest child was reportedly present when London cornered his wife in the bedroom and stabbed her.
None of the neighbours heard any screams, and some suggested that the killer may have pressed a pillow to his spouse’s face to muffle her cries. A blood soaked pillow was reportedly found in the house.

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