Mahaicony father of 11 commits suicide – wife says substance abuse, court case contributed to his demise

By Kristen Macklingam

Words could not describe the atmosphere at the Dundee, Mahaicony residence of boat captain Gavin Singh, where relatives and friends turned up on Wednesday afternoon to mourn his death.

The 42-year-old father of 11 reportedly hung himself in his bedroom on Tuesday evening following an altercation with his wife. The suicide is said to have occurred around 20:30hrs that night.

Reports are that his wife, Sharmilla, was in their yard with the children for some time before she ventured upstairs to check on her husband but got the shock of her life when she saw him dangling from a rope.

“I couldn’t believe it, I screamed for my son to come and together we got him down from the rope. I kept shaking Gavin, asking him what was wrong, but of course he didn’t answer. I kept holding on to him, shaking him…,” she told INews yesterday.

Despite claims that her husband abused her for a number of years, the woman stated that without his presence in her life and the lives of her children she is unsure as to what the future holds for them.

She explained that her family depended heavily on his presence and security but with his absence she does not know “what the days ahead have in store” for them.

Sharmilla said she and Gavin were married for 23 years, with their youngest child being six months old.

The widow explained that often Gavin would use illegal drugs and display outbursts of anger which would most likely result in him hitting her.

As a result of being high “on the drugs he smoked up” he would threaten to take his own life as well as kill her, she said.

“He used to tell me that he would kill me first so that no other man can get me and then he will kill himself…he used to smoke up the drugs many, many days but I didn’t expect that he would actually kill himself…he had a lot on his mind but lately it was this court case where they wanted to jail him,” she explained.

Sharmilla further explained that Gavin had been a boat captain and one of his crew members died while out at sea. Police ranks were said to have detained him for questioning and subsequently he was placed behind bars for a short while.

“They wanted him to go to jail for a couple months but he beg not to go to jail. I know he take this thing on…and I think this is what really trigger him to kill himself,” she added.