The Rose Hall, Corentyne man who is currently in police custody for allegedly hacking his wife to death two days ago, had threatened to kill the woman several times before.
Bhagwattie Etwaru, 50, was murdered on Monday ending several years of abuse at the hands of her reputed husband.
The woman’s youngest daughter, Natasha Etwaru, said that over the past five years, the dead woman’s reputed husband Desmond Gordon had made several threats to kill her mother. “I see he beat she couple well times,” she said.
The couple was living together at Mangrove Street, Rose Hall for some eight years.
INews was told that Etwaru made frequent visits to the Rose Hall Police Outpost with reports of domestic violence. But she would later return to the police saying that she did not want to proceed with the charges.
On other occasions when she was physically abused, she would leave home and stay with relatives. “Sometimes she does come by we and den after two, three days, he gon come and bribe she back,” the now dead woman’s youngest daughter related.
The dead woman’s sister-in-law, Babita, said for the first three years of the relationship, everything between the couple seemed fine but then suddenly, things changed. She said that the couple got together in 2008.
Meanwhile, on the day of the fateful incident, relatives recalled that the couple was consuming alcohol together. According to an eyewitness, who is a friend of the couple, “Gordon beat she one time and she get a cut on she face”.
“I tell him before you beat the lady, why you don’t left the lady and leh she go long she way, an while gaffing with he, she jump down from the verandah, and he come down and bruck a wood a start beat she again and I walk out the yard.”
The eyewitness recalled that another neighbour then telephoned the Rose Hall Police Outpost and was told that it was a “man and woman matter.”
He said a short while after, Gordon walked out of the yard and approached him. “He tell me he kill the woman and he going an hang heself. So I try fuh gaff with he. I tell he wait, ah going an buy this thing and then neighbours collect him and tell the Police, but when the Police come she already dead.”
According to the dead woman’s sister-in-law, only last month a restraining order was taken out against Gordon and he was also placed on a bond to keep the peace for six months.
She said Etwaru would frequently hang out with friends and on some occasions, would be away from home for up to four days before returning. She referred to Gordon as an abusive husband who Etwaru kept running back to.
Etwaru leaves to mourn seven children. The couple did not have any children together.
SAD but this will only change when we all start doing our part and learn to live as Guyanese,,
This is a case of the beast killed beauty,happens when you test the other side of the waters,,,
So his friend saw him beating her with a wood and he walked out of the yard instead of trying to part the two of them. Yes I know sometimes the peacemaker gets the brunt of it but come on could he not have intervened. May his conscience bother hin for rest of his life . Abd fancy the police saying it’s a man and wife matter. How disgusting and so sad.