Woman stabbed to death on birthday over thieving monkey row

Jan 07, 2020 News

A Plaisance shop owner was stabbed to death just after midnight on Sunday allegedly by her 57-year-old next door neighbour, Samuel Cummings.

Dead: Sharon Burnette

The shop where Burnette was stabbed

The dead woman was identified as 54-year-old Sharon Burnette, of Graham Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara. The woman would have been celebrating her 54th birthday the very day she died.The motive behind the woman’s untimely death was a bizarre story where Cummings accused the woman of sending her pet monkey over to his house to steal his money.
Relatives disclosed to police that on Friday last, he came over to the woman’s shop in a rage and accused her of commanding her pet monkey to steal his money. But according to them, the woman does not own a pet monkey, and stated that the stray animal would usually enter everyone’s home.
The two parties had a heated exchange of words, which ended with the suspect threatening to kill Burnette.
Relatives stated that Burnette thought nothing of the threat but was encouraged to make a report at the police station. On Sunday evening, the woman entered her shop located in front of her home as is customary to sleep.
It was said that the suspect who was intoxicated at the time of the stabbing, lit an old fridge situated at the side of the shop to gain the woman’s attention. When she stepped outside to investigate, he dealt her a single stab wound to the neck causing her to collapse.
Burnette’s brother who resided with her, was alerted to the commotion and found his sister lying motionless in a pool of blood near her shop.
The police were immediately summoned to the scene and they arrested the suspect who reportedly returned to his yard behaving in a disorderly manner.
Burnette was escorted to the Georgetown Public Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
A post mortem examination was conducted yesterday by State pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh and the cause of death was given as stab wound to the neck. The wound was said to be four inches wide.
The suspect was reportedly a convicted murder who was released on parole.
Investigations are continuing.