Wife allegedly admits to hiring ‘hitman’ to kill husband; another relative in custody

By Leroy Smith

[www.inewsguyana.com] – The estranged wife of 43 – year – old Nathan Persaud, whose battered body was found at his Herstelling, East Bank Demerara home, has reportedly confessed to hiring a man to kill him.

Gwendolyn Persaud and her husband were engaged in a bitter property dispute, prior to his murder. The police were informed that the two were separated, which resulted in the husband relocating to Herstelling, where he lived with his sons; however the couple became engaged in a dispute over a property at the entrance of Diamond New Scheme, East Bank Demerara, which was engaging the attention of the court.

A reliable police source told iNews that on Saturday, September 12, 2015, the woman told investigators at the Criminal Investigation Department that she paid to have the man killed after he expressed confidence that he was going to win the court battle for the property she was living in and that he will ensure she is placed on the streets.

According to the police source, the woman contracted the best friend of a close relative, after she overheard him having a conversation about traveling to a Caribbean island to visit his girlfriend but did not have enough money.

The close relative is also in police custody, iNews was informed. The police source noted that Persaud allegedly used that opportunity to engage the man on the plot to murder her husband. She reportedly confessed that she poured her heart out to the man, telling him that she was the subject of an abusive relationship while she was with her husband.

The woman allegedly confessed to instructing the hitman on how to kill her husband. iNews understands that no money was paid to the man and according to the police source, when the man completed the murderous act on September 10, he returned to the home of the woman for payment, but she told him she was not able to secure the money and that he will be contacted when she does.

The woman was taken into custody a few hours after Persaud’s body was found in his living room with a stab wound to the chest, and his head bashed in with a hammer.

A postmortem examination revealed that the Block Maker sustained some 20 wounds to the head. The police are working on the theory that the murder was a paid hit and robbery was not the motive, since nothing was taken from the house.

According to information, it is believed that the killer travelled to the area from Georgetown and the police believe that he spent approximately 20 minutes asking residents in the area for directions to the man’s home.

The suspect allegedly had his victim’s address written on a piece of paper. Neighbours said that they heard the man screaming earlier in his house but they were too scared to enter his home since they were all females.

However, shortly after the screaming stopped, a strange man was seen walking out of Persaud’s yard; he allegedly smiled and waved at a neighbour.