Languishing in prison for acting killing her abuser in self-defence

Jun 21, 2020 News

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Melissa Playter hopes to raise bail to see her young children

On June 2 of this year, Melissa Playter turned 25, but there was no reason to celebrate. She spent her milestone in detention at the New Amsterdam Women’s Prison.

Charged with the murder of her reputed husband, Melissa had been remanded to the facility in December of 2018 and is yet to have her day in court.
According to Melissa’s relatives and many others who knew her, the tragic incident was the culmination of years of tumult, abuse, and fear in the relationship, which the mother of three shared with the 38 year old father of her youngest child, Victor Roberts.
Melissa’s grandparents tell a story of a young woman who had a very rough beginning and is facing an unjust fate in a life she had barely begun living. Her parents were both addicts with unstable living conditions, so from birth Melissa was placed in the care of her maternal grandparents. Though they did the best they could to provide for her, Melissa’s grandparents admit that it was not always easy caring for a young child, with no financial or emotional assistance from either parent, and they were not always able to provide the support she may have needed. Her secondary education was cut short very early, and she was often caught wandering and otherwise ‘acting out’.
Some of Melissa’s close relatives believe her lack of a sound education and emotional support may have made her more susceptible to the likes of Victor Roberts, whom they say was controlling and obsessive towards her for the entirety of the relationship. In the few years that the couple lived together, Melissa had had cause to make several reports to the police because of various instances of abuse from the man.
Her aunt distinctly remembers Melissa complaining to her that her reputed husband was abusive and controlling, and even refused to let her work outside of the home because he was so jealous. She says she plies her trade as a vendor on Water Street in Georgetown and encouraged Melissa to join her so she could earn much needed income to help support her small children. After Melissa took her advice and started selling drinks nearby, the man would habitually show up at the location to make sure Melissa was there. If he came while she was in the restroom, he would proceed to stand at the restroom door to ascertain if she had company in there, her aunt says.
Eventually, he made her stop vending, and she was again dependent on him for the necessities she needed for herself and her children. He used his economic power over her to control her and make her do his bidding, her aunt says. Even after they managed to start a small shop in the downstairs area of their dwelling, the man is said to have constantly beaten and berated the young woman for having simple interactions with male customers. He used to police her every move and did not hesitate to abuse her if he felt she had had too long a conversation with a customer or was complaining to a friend of family about his behaviour.
According to her sister who lives in neighbouring Suriname, Melissa would often sneak away to call her and beg that she come to Guyana and take her and the children away from the abusive man. She says she got the resources together and came to Guyana to get her sister and her children. Victor’s mother she says, helped her to get the needed applications for Melissa’s travel documents. However, before the documents could be processed, the man walked in on Melissa and her sister talking and went into a rage, according to the sister. She says he immediately picked up a cutlass and slid it across the concrete floor, threatening to kill Melissa right there. He then walked around the yard and went out onto the road, loudly continuing to threaten to kill Melissa if she tried to leave. She says she was forced to return to Suriname without her sister.
He soon stopped her from having interactions with her friends and family completely, and her aunt barely got glimpes of Melissa after she stopped vending. She would often plead with her reputed husband to allow her to visit her grandmother, who had suffered a stroke and is now aged as well as ailing¬¬ but he refused. Her aunt is convinced that Victor was paranoid about Melissa’s interactions because he thought her family and friends might try to convince her to leave the abusive relationship. He was right. Several members of her family say they tried to convince her to leave but were unsuccessful.
Her aunt says Victor once threw a heavy padlock at Melissa while she was pregnant, which hit her in the back and caused her to have a miscarriage. She says this was one of many instances of abuse which the family was aware of, despite the man’s effort to keep them in the dark.
One of the most memorable incidents of the abuse resulted in a near death experience and a life-long scar for Melissa, her aunt says. The man is said to have chopped her in the face, leaving a terrible scar and resulting in a hospital stay. A report was made to the police and the young mother moved in with her grandparents, but Melissa decided not to pursue the case and returned to living with the man.
On December 2, 2018, things came to a head. According to neighbours, Victor again started abusing Melissa, verbally and physically. He ran towards her and repeated his threat to kill her as the two got into a scuffle. Victor subsequently collapsed and was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. A visibly dazed Melissa Playter was arrested and charged with murder. Upon appearing before a Magistrate, she was remanded to prison pending further court proceedings.
As Melissa languishes in prison while awaiting a trial, her young children are yearning for their mother. While her 6-year-old and 9-year-old are in the care of their paternal grandparents, they face an uncertain future. Her youngest is now without either parent, just like Melissa at her age. Her family strongly believes that the difficulties Melissa faced negatively impacted her adult life, and they wish to end the cycle by bringing Melissa home to spend as much time with her children as possible.
The You Are Not Alone (YANA) Foundation and its CEO Melissa Atwell have embarked on a campaign to raise funds to secure Melissa’s pretrial liberty via a bail application to the High Court. They are expected to raise $500,000 to make that happen and would like the help of the public. Once Melissa is released, the foundation plans to assist her in returning to her children as well as pursuing avenues of self-development as she awaits her trial. Persons interested in assisting can contact +592-677-7992 or [email protected] for further details.

 

 

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