Two residents of Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) have been identified as the perpetrators who raped a young mother, brutally attacked her husband and threatened to kill their two-year-old son during a home invasion around 02:30 hrs on Wednesday.
The two villagers, along with another suspect who police believe to be from the neighbouring village Tuschen, also attempted to kidnap the family in their (the couple’s) car.
The two perpetrators were recognized yesterday by the female victim during an Identification (ID) parade at the Leonora Police Station.
It was only yesterday police ranks discovered that the two suspects and the victims reside in the same village. The third perpetrator is still at large.
The police believe that the suspects did not attempt to wear any form of disguise during the criminal act because they had intended to kill their victims.
“We believe that they were going to kill these people and dump them in the canal that is why they remove them from their home and that is why they did not hide their faces. So when the car broke down, they had no choice but to escape,” a police source said.
According to information received, the woman’s 34-year-old husband told investigators that he was asleep when someone hit him in the head with a gun and demanded cash and jewellery. He claimed that he handed over $12,000 and his wedding band.
Not satisfied with the loot, the three armed men reportedly started beating the victim while an accomplice raped his wife. The entire ordeal played out in front of the couple’s two-year-old son.
Police sources confirmed that the victims reported that the home invaders had threatened to kill the child if he did not stop crying.
The Guyana Standard was informed that after attacking the family, the suspects demanded that the family get into their car that was parked in the yard. One of the perpetrators drove the vehicle. According to information received, the three men were heading to a canal in the village when the vehicle malfunctioned.
When this happened, the police said that the suspects had no other choice but to leave the victims in the car and escape on foot.
This news agency has been told that when the men fled the scene, the victims walked to the nearest house in the area and called the police. They were then taken to the hospital where they were treated and sent away.
The Guyana Standard was told that when the police went to the area where the perpetrator abandoned their victims, they managed to track two of the suspects walking on a muddy dam not far from the scene. The third person escaped.
