Latest update August 4th, 2026 12:30 AM
Man confesses to slitting 7-year-old boy’s throat
(Kaieteur News) – A 23-year-old farmer has confessed to the brutal murder of seven-year-old Adriel Aftab Mohamed and the attempted murder of 72-year-old Halima Itwari of Zeelugt New Housing Scheme, after investigators confronted him with compelling digital evidence linking him to the crime scene.
The suspect was arrested Saturday, one day after the pre-dawn attack that left a young boy dead and an elderly woman hospitalised.
Deputy Commissioner of Police and Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum confirmed the confession to Kaieteur News on Sunday, stating that the digital evidence proved decisive in breaking the suspect’s resistance.
“Being unable to deny his presence at the crime scene, the suspect confessed to investigators the gruesome details of what he did when he entered the home and thereafter,” the Crime Chief said.
A Trail of Evidence
Investigators built a formidable case noting that the knife recovered at the crime scene was confirmed by the suspect as the weapon used in the attack. Clothing worn during the assault has since been retrieved and will be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis, along with other physical evidence.
Dead: 7-year-old Adriel Aftab Mohamed
The suspect also revealed that before entering the victims’ home, he had attempted to break into a nearby property. He was deterred only by sounds suggesting someone was awake inside.
“However, he failed to enter the home as he heard movements which alerted him that someone was awake. And in his haste to leave before an alarm was raised, he left his slippers and a music player,” Blanhum told Kaieteur News.
Police recovered both items, which the suspect confirmed belonged to him — a detail that further corroborated the digital evidence already in detectives’ possession.
The suspect’s employer revealed that the morning after the attack, the farmer arrived to work bearing a fresh wound on his hand — one that had not been there the day before.
“The suspect did confirm that the cut on his hand occurred while he was committing the acts,” the Crime Chief said.
The murder occurred at approximately 04:45 hrs. on Friday, June 5, when Adriel and his great-grandmother were alone at their home. A relative arriving at around 05:05 hrs. discovered Itwari injured and the child motionless. Emergency services were called, and the elderly woman was transported to hospital, where she remains in a stable but traumatised condition.
“She is in a lot of pain, she is still traumatised and afraid of the whole situation,” a relative said.
The boy’s great-uncle, Naseeb Mohamed, described the harrowing scene he encountered when he entered the darkened home.
“One of the neighbours called my wife this morning, minutes to five and told her I must come down to check on my mother because somebody is in the house. And I came and when I came, I pushed the door and went inside, I put on the lights because the place was dark. I saw my mother lying on the ground, the first thought that came to my mind was that she was dead, and then I look up, a little more in the house I saw my great nephew on the ground,” he recalled.
Moving closer to the child, Mohamed said: “I see he had a cut to his neck and the whole place was filled with blood, a lot of blood all over the place.” He immediately alerted neighbours and rushed his mother to the hospital.
Adriel’s father was working in Essequibo at the time of the attack. The boy lived in the home with his great-grandmother and his father.
Mohamed expressed bewilderment at the motive behind the senseless violence. “My mother is not a rich woman, and then she is 72 years old and had stroke over a year now. I don’t know if it’s a robbery or they just come to molest her or whatever the case might be,” he said.
Investigation Ongoing
Adriel’s body has been transferred to Ezekiel Funeral Home, where it awaits a post-mortem examination. Relatives remembered the Zeelugt Primary School student as an energetic and friendly child.
Authorities have not yet released the suspect’s identity, pending the completion of the investigation. Because one victim survived the attack, the suspect will be placed on an identification parade as part of the ongoing process.
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