‘I was kidnapped, robbed, shot and left for dead’ by taxi driver based at popular city hotel – Venezuelan woman

Jul 13, 2024 News

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Kaieteur News – A Venezuelan woman on Wednesday recounted throwing herself into some bushes aback of Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD) on a rainy night after a taxi driver based at a popular city hotel allegedly kidnapped, robbed, shot and left her for dead.

The woman, identified as 29-year-old Diana Danello, a mother of one said that the gruesome attempt on her life took place during the evening hours of April 10. Although three months has passed, the bullet is still lodged in the woman’s body.

An x-ray seen by Kaieteur News shows that the bullet is lodged in the woman’s back in a region close to her spine. Danello was reportedly robbed of $300,000 cash and an iPhone 15 Pro Max by the taxi driver she trusted.

The matter was reported at the Diamond Police Station but the suspect was never arrested and remains on the job at the city hotel.

“I gave them his number, a photo of his car and even the location of his workplace and the location where I last tracked my iPhone and told them that the hotel have cameras that could show them when he picked me up from the hotel but they did nothing (translated from Spanish),” the woman said before adding that every time she asked for an update, the investigators would tell her that they are still verifying to see if the information she gave them checked out.

“They (the detectives) were more concerned about my personal life, about what I was doing and who I was with at the hotel and even tried to blackmail me. They asked me questions that had nothing to do with the case (translated from Spanish),” the Venezuelan woman alleged.

As a result, the woman said was forced to flee Guyana and return to Venezuela because she was fearful for her life and relives the trauma each day. The woman said it was best for her to leave Guyana since the suspect is free and could possibly locate her and try to kill her.

However, after reading the news, that Evelyn Alves better known as Fabiana Betancourt, a Venezuelan woman was found shot dead on Sunday at Diamond, she decided to publicise her story.

According to Danello, although Alves’ murderer might not be same man who tried to kill her in April, she believes staying silent could result in the loss of life for other women in vulnerable situations.

Recounting the night of April 10

Asked to recount the events of April 10, Danello said that night she had planned to party so she stacked on cash and left her home. Her first stop was at the popular hotel  for dinner.  She then left the hotel in the taxi driver’s SUV.

She told Kaieteur News that it was not the first time she travelled with the taxi driver because she frequents the hotel.

“He was always neatly dressed and acted in a professional manner (translated from Spanish),” the woman said while relating that, she trusted the taxi base at the hotel because it was like an executive service.

On April 10, however, the taxi driver reportedly turned into a monster. Instead of taking her to her destination, he locked the woman in and drove her at gunpoint to a lonely area aback of Diamond and turned off his car lights.

Upon their arrival there, he reportedly held her at gunpoint and demanded that she hand over her purse and other valuables. Danello claimed that she had told him to take what he wants but spare her life.

He took the purse which had her house keys, the cash, her ID card and some other documents along with her phone but according to the woman, it seemed as if he had no intention of letting her leave alive because he tried shooting her to the head.

“El trata de dispararme, para matarme verdad, o sea, el me disparo verdad como dos tres cuatro veces con la pistola pero no salio nada la pistola hizo (imitates the sound the gun made) (He tried to shoot me to kill me right … he tried shoot like two, three, four times but nothing came out, the gun made (imitates the sound that the gun made)”, she told Kaieteur News.

It could be that the gun had jammed but the woman said that she believed at the time that it did not have any bullets.

Instead of letting her go, the suspect tried to strangle her with a belt.

“El agarro y quito la correa y me intento ahorcar y bueno dios me dio fuerza y pelee con el, le di unas patadas en las bolas (He held and took off his belt and tried to strangle me but God gave me strength and I fought with him, I give him some kicks in the balls,” she recounted.

While she fought for her life, she also received some blows to her body. The most painful she said was to her breasts because a surgery was performed on them.

During the fight for survival, the taxi driver reportedly lost a chain which he was wearing and for a few seconds, let go of her to look for it. She recalled that he asked her where the chain was and it was that moment that she was able to escape his grip and exited the car into the pouring rain.

She recounted running a short distance away when the taxi driver told her that he was going to kill her because she knows his face and where he works.

It was at this point that man reportedly drew his gun again and shot at her. This time the gun went off and she ran for her life.

She claimed that at the time, she did not know she was hit but it occurred to her that she might be unable to escape him.

“Yo me tire pa el monte (I threw myself in some bushes),” the Venezuelan woman said as she recalled seeing the taxi driver exiting the SUV with a torchlight and searching around the area.

She reportedly remained still in the bushes until he re-entered the vehicle and left. She then got up and walked in the pouring rain until she met a man selling at a small stand along the road.

There she asked for help but the man said he had no cell phone to give her a call but advised her to wait until the rain was over for him to take her to a hospital.

Fearful that he too might harm her, she continued to walk in the rain. Cars passed by, she said, but she was reluctant to accept any help from the drivers. One man, however, stopped and identified himself as a policeman.

“Y me llevo a la (Diamond) police station (and he carried me to the police station)”. She said that when she arrived there, she realized that the attempt on her life took place in close proximity to the police station.

After seeing her condition, she was advised to go to a hospital. The policeman who picked her up took her to the closest hospital and she was admitted.

There she learnt that a bullet entered one of her arms and was lodged in her back. Doctors were unable to remove the warhead. She had also sustained a fractured rib from the blows she received. Detectives subsequently took a statement from her.

When she was well enough to be discharged, she returned to the Diamond Police Station to give an official statement.  She recalled that the police did all the preliminary investigations and had even taken her back to the scene but days passed and it seemed as if the investigators were no longer interested in the case.

Tired of the run-around and fearful for her life, Danello returned to Venezuela.

Kaieteur News contacted the police for an update but calls and WhatsApp messages went unanswered.  However, this publication confirmed that the suspect, as identified by Danello, was indeed still working at the city hotel but did not show up for work for two days. His co-workers said they do not know where he is. The SUV he reportedly used on the night to allegedly kidnap and rob the Venezuelan woman was seen parked in the hotel’s parking lot.

Coincidently, the suspect disappeared shortly after the Venezuelan woman made a Facebook post about her story. Calls to his mobile phone were forwarded to his voicemail.

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• allegedly, city hotel, Diana Cabello, taxi driver, Venezuelan Woman

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