Law enforcement officials in Suriname have arrested a 41-year-old Guyanese fisherman at Commissioner Thurkowweg near Belwaarde, and he is being held in connection with the murder of a Dominican Republic woman.
The lifeless body of the woman, 40-year-old Altagracia Del Rosario Mejia, was found at about 10:30h on Thursday at a house on the Verlengde Hoogestraat in Suriname. It has been reported that she had lived in the house with other Dominican women, and that the rooms of the house are rented out.
Mejia’s naked and gagged body was found with multiple injuries, including cuts and stab wounds to the face, neck, abdomen, and shoulders. Her room had also been ransacked.
Neighbours told Surinamese Police they had heard screaming at around 04:00h on Thursday, and when they had taken a closer look, they had seen nothing worth mentioning, but they note it was dark in the house. However, the woman’s motionless and bloodied body was found in her room later in the day.
Following the ordeal, the suspect, who was plying his trade in Surinamese waters, was arrested after video footage showed he was the last person to have visited the woman’s apartment before she was found dead.
Surinamese authorities have since stated that CCTV cameras close to the woman’s apartment have revealed that the fisherman would frequently visit the woman’s apartment.
He was tracked down and arrested by Police as he was about to leave their shores with a fishing boat. He was then taken to Paramaribo, and will be transferred to the Capital Offenses Department.
While the motive for the woman’s killing is still unknown at this time, her lifeless body was seized for autopsy, and further investigations have been launched.
