Latest update April 9th, 2025 12:59 AM
The case of the murdered midwife
By Michael Jordan
On the night of Thursday, October 25, 2018, Paulette Wade’s six-year-old daughter awoke to find the family’s Kwakwani Park, Region Ten home in darkness. Lying next to her three-year old brother and her mother, the child saw her mom, a 37-year-old midwife, struggling with someone, while crying out what sounded like the name “Delon.”
Murdered in her bedroom: Kwakwani midwife, Paulette Wade
Kwakwani residents hold a vigil for Paulette Wade
It was too dark for Wade’s daughter to identify the attacker, and so terrified was she that the child shut her eyes and remained in bed.At around six-thirty the following day, Paulette Wade’s daughter got up and found her mom lying motionless on the bedroom floor.
Wade’s daughter then ran to a neighbour’s house, and accompanied by a nine-year-old friend, went to the Kwakwani Hospital, some 200 metres away and told her mother’s colleagues what she had seen.
The hospital staffers returned and found that Wade was indeed dead.
While there were a few scratches on her body, police did not suspect foul play, and some speculated that the midwife had suffered an epileptic seizure. That suggestion was quickly dispelled a few days later, when a post mortem revealed that someone had struck Paulette Wade on the head and manually strangled her.
Police found no sign of forced entry to the house. This seemed to suggest that the midwife had known her killer and had trusted him enough to have let him in at night.
And the intruder seemed to have known his way around the house, since he had apparently switched off all the lights before attacking Wade.
But the absence of a clear motive baffled detectives. This was clearly not a robbery, since cash, jewellery and other valuables were left untouched. There was also no sign of an attempt at sexual assault.
The scene of the murder
Turning their attention to persons who were close to the victim, they detained the midwife’s reputed husband, who was employed with a mining company. They drew a blank there and released him.
Detectives also received information which suggested that the midwife might have been the victim of another woman’s wrath.
Persons close to Paulette Wade said that she had seen the photograph of this woman in a phone, and that this woman had sent threats to her. There were suggestions that this woman might have sent someone to injure the midwife.
Detectives took the woman into custody, but released her after 72 hours.
Still working on the theory that someone was sent to kill Wade, investigators picked up a number of individuals, including some who were named ‘Delon.’
Among them was an individual who had reportedly once done work on Wade’s home. With no breakthrough in sight, ranks from the Force’s Major Crimes Unit joined the investigation. However, while the suspects admitted to knowing Wade, they all denied killing her, and the investigators were forced to release them.
But determined to solve the case, detectives again revisited Kwakwani.
Examining Paulette Wade’s house more closely, they discovered that there was a flaw with the back door, which could have enabled an intruder to enter the premises. They also found other clues that caused them to detain a Kwakwani resident whom they had questioned during the early stages of the investigation.
The man’s first name was ‘Delon’. But though he was questioned, detectives again found nothing to implicate him. No one else has been arrested.
Meanwhile, some are convinced that many Kwakwani residents, including some who are urging the police to solve the crime speedily, know more than they are saying.
Police are appealing to these individuals to contact them, even if they do so anonymously.
If you have any information about this case, please contact Kaieteur News at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown location. We can be reached on telephone numbers 592-225-8458, 592-225-8465, 592-225-8491 or 592-225-8473. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email address: kamarangnight@gmail.com
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
The geography of pettiness
Kaieteur News – You have to admire the commitment. Not to international diplomacy, mind you, but to the art of the... more
Weekend Cartoon
