See full statement from the Guyana Police Force:
The Police Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is currently investigating a hanging that occurred on Monday, May 6, 2024, between 05:00hrs and 07:45hrs at Lethem Police Station, by Carl Benedick, age 37, a Driver of St Ignatius Village, Lethem Region No. 9.
According to reports, Carl Benedick and his wife have been together for 18 years and have five (5) children; however, during their relationship, she was subjected to constant physical abuse. These incidents were reported to the police at Lethem Police Station, and Carl was charged and brought to court.
On May 16, 2023, he was found guilty of one of the charges and was fined $10,000.00.
On Sunday, May 5, 2024, the police received a call from a concerned resident reporting that Carl was assaulting his wife. Ranks responded to the report, and Carl was arrested and escorted to the Lethem Police Station. At the station, his clothes were removed, and he was placed in a cell by himself with only shorts on, while his wife’s statement was being taken. She was also issued with a medical certificate and escorted to seek medical attention for her injuries.
At about 07:45 hrs. on Monday, May 6, 2024, the ranks entered the lockups and discovered Carl hanging by his neck with the ‘waist band’ of his shorts, which he had removed and tied to the metal vent on the lockups’ southern wall.
The scene was processed and photographed by crime scene technicians, and Carl was transported to the Lethem Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead by a doctor. The body showed no marks of violence and is currently lying at the said hospital awaiting post-mortem examination
Investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility is ongoing.
