Ryan Sugrim, the businessman who police say murdered his ex-wife before setting her body on fire, and later burying the remains in a shallow grave at Crane, West Coast Demerara (WCD), has reportedly confessed.
The suspect told investigators that he shot Zaila Sugrim, the mother of his five children, in her face because “she always upsets [him].” Sugrim confessed last night, hours after police ranks dug the woman’s burnt remains from a shallow grave, a stone’s throw from the gas station owned by his parents.
The Guyana Standard has been informed that the suspect shot his ex-wife in the backyard at Crane but no one reported hearing any gunshots.
“Neighbours did not hear any gunshots and the children were home and they too did not hear any gunshots so we are waiting on the postmortem to find out if she was indeed shot as claimed by the suspect,” a police source said.
According to information received, the suspect further claimed that after shooting the mother of five, he set her body on fire. However, a neighbour raised an alarm and threatened to call the police and fire service if Sugrim did not put out the blaze.
“He said that the smoke was thick and black, black and after the neighbour called and tell him she will call the police, he tell her that he will put it out. So he used water to put out the blaze and picked up the remains and put it in his car and carry it to the spot and bury it,” the police source said.
When the man returned home after burying his ex-wife, his children saw him washing mud and what seemed like blood from his vehicle but they did not suspect anything at this point since their mother did not reside with them.
The deceased was living in Diamond, East Bank Demerara at the time and had asked her ex-husband to pick her up on the same day she was killed since she wanted to surprise her son for his birthday. It was after she failed to make contact with relatives for three days that she was reported as missing.
This news agency has been informed that when ranks initially questioned the suspect, he lied and said he never met his ex-wife despite persons witnessing her entering his vehicle. This subsequently led to a search at his home where burnt debris was found but no one knew what it was.
The children were questioned and they related what they saw on Saturday. Additionally, neighbours told ranks that they saw the suspect going to the secluded area on Saturday night and found it strange since the area has vegetation.
This led to a search in the area on Tuesday and the burnt body of the woman was subsequently found. The suspect is expected to be charged soon.
Relatives of the deceased claimed that she and the suspect shared a very abusive relationship. On one occasion, the woman’s skull was fractured and hip broken by the suspect.
