Cops suspect murder/suicide in case of Eccles couple
Investigators probing the discovery of the burnt remains of Cindy Moses and Leeroy King at their Eccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD) home on Tuesday night believe that it may be a case of murder/suicide.
Police spokesman, Assistant Commissioner Royston Andries-Junor made this disclosure in a press release issued yesterday.
He said the bodies were burnt beyond recognition. Investigators are therefore awaiting the result of the autopsies to determine under what circumstances the couple met their demise.
The autopsies are scheduled to be conducted tomorrow.
The police say that King is believed to have set the house on fire after he and his partner, Moses got into a heated argument shortly after he returned home on Tuesday night.
According to the police, investigations revealed that around 7.15 pm, King, 34, a barber returned home and Moses, 35, a businesswoman was observed opening the gate for him.
“Shortly after, one of the neighbours claimed that she heard screams coming from the said house and what appeared to be a loud explosion before seeing fire emanating from the upper flat of the north eastern side of the said building,” the police explained.
The police and the Guyana Fire Service were both summoned. The fire was extinguished after which the bodies of the couple were discovered in a bedroom of the house.
Stabroek News understands that the couple met about two years ago and were living together for over a year. Relatives said that it was only on Saturday that they moved into the house situated at Lot 1139 Block EE, Eccles, EBD, which is owned by Moses.
They noted that prior to this, the couple rented an apartment in Diamond, EBD. The couple only occupied a room of the house since construction is yet to be completed.
The deaths have left both families in a state of shock. Up to yesterday, they said they were still trying to determine what could have possibly led to an argument which escalated to such an extent.
The dead woman’s brother, Anthony Moses yesterday told Stabroek News there were signs of a scuffle in the bedroom in which the couple were found. He said that he also recovered two knives and a screwdriver in the bedroom.
Anthony said he believes that Cindy was killed and possibly set alight before King took his own life. “You coulda recognize he ( King) but she was burnt beyond recognition…..based on how they were found also it look as though she tried to run out of the house and he hold her down,” Anthony explained.
According to Anthony, he learnt that his sister had returned home shortly before King. He added that based on what he was told, King was intoxicated when he arrived home.
Relatives of the couple said that they would often times argue but they were unaware of any fights. They said King was a very jovial person while Cindy was a very private person.
“They never use to mix and mingle much with the family but the little that we know is that we never knew that they use to fight and thing. We know that they use to have arguments and so but I never know about any fights or so between them,” a cousin of Cindy, Christopher (only name given) said.
Christopher noted that Cindy was a person who “kept a lot of things to herself”. He said he last saw King hours before the incident and he didn’t show any sign that he was bothered or angry.
Meanwhile, Kimberly Fraser, King’s sister said that the couple moved to Cindy’s house after they found their rent was “too expensive”.
“They moved because they were giving up this place that they were renting because it’s too expensive. He (King) moved his barber shop back to his original home (in Diamond) and she close down her business. So they just moved in there, so they won’t have to pay a lot of rent,” she said.
Relatives said that King has three children from a previous marriage.