Sandys woman murdered
By Amanda Dale
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Police and Firemen stand over the body of a 23-year-old Sandys woman outside the Steel City clothing store on Middle Road, Sandys, near Overplus Lanes yesterday. Out of respect for the victim's family, Royal Gazette editors and photographers have opted to not publish other photographs of the scene.
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Photo by Tamell Simons
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A King Edward VII Memorial Hospital ambulance leaves the park which surrounds the Somerset Bridge Wharf Post Office, carrying the suspect in the slaying of a 23-year-old Sandys woman at the junction of Middle Road and Overplus Lane.
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Photo By Akil Simmons
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An armed Police officer enters the area.
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A man was last night being questioned by Police after the death of a 23-year-old mother-of-two in Sandys.
Detectives have confirmed a 36-year-old man from Pembroke is "assisting Police with their inquiries" after the woman collapsed and died outside a florist's on Middle Road.
Neighbours say the woman, a corrections officer, ran from her apartment in Paynter Lane to get help from neighbourhood stores, but collapsed in a pool of blood before she could reach them.
Police say they are treating the death as a murder.
A man – believed to be the woman's boyfriend – was taken into custody a short time later nearby.
The Rose's Flower Shop and Steel City clothes store were less than a hundred yards away, but the woman, bare-chested and bloodied, collapsed in front of a shopkeeper.
A friend of the victim said last night: "She was a very sweet person, she didn't get angry at anything.
"They've been together for more than two years and he is the father of her children."
The 31-year-old friend, who lives in Overplus Lane, said the woman leaves two daughters, aged two and eight months.
She also described the distress of the shopkeeper, the owner of Steel City clothing.
"He is devastated right now. He came out of the store to have a cigarette and she came running around the corner. He was the last person she saw.
"He looked up at her and she looked at him, and then she just dropped.
"She only had on her work pants, no shoes or top. She was bare-chested and blood was pouring down her chest."
She said the storekeeper phoned 911 while passers-by tried to resuscitate the woman.
The incident took place at around 3 p.m. yesterday. Police cordoned off the forecourt outside the florists, which is also known as Hog Bay Flowers due to its location opposite Hog Bay Park.
A blue tarpaulin and a Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service appliance screened the body from public view while forensic officers and detectives combed the scene.
Shortly before 5 p.m. however, events took a dramatic turn as detectives, Police and Fire and Rescue personnel sped down the road to Somerset Bridge.
There, a short distance along the Railway Trail behind the Post Office, Police apprehended a 36-year-old man.
Sources say the man "self-harmed" himself and had to be coaxed to hand himself over to Police.
Officers spent an hour-and-a-half negotiating with him to surrender to custody while EMTs from King Edward VII Memorial Hospital carried towels to the scene.
A friend and a second cousin of the suspect were also seen to walk along the wooded trail to speak to him. Finally, at 6.20 p.m., he was taken to in an ambulance. He is in intensive care where his condition is stable.
Meanwhile, in Paynter Lane, Police cordoned off the road as forensics officers examined the woman's apartment.
At around 6.15 p.m. a Bermuda Police Service tow truck took away a black Subaru Impreza.
Last night, Police issued the following statement: "Around 3 p.m. today, Police attended a report of a serious assault on Middle Road in Sandys parish near the junction with Overplus Lane.
"The victim, a 23-year-old Sandy's parish woman, was found seriously injured and in an unresponsive state. She was pronounced dead at the scene by an on call physician.
"No further information will be released until the deceased's next of kin has been notified.
"A 36-year-old Pembroke man of interest was then located on the Railway Trail in the Somerset Bridge area where Police negotiations commenced.
"The Pembroke man was subsequently taken to KEMH where he is being treated for injuries and is assisting Police with their inquiries. Inquiries into this incident are ongoing."
Speaking at the scene, a Police spokesman said: "It is officially a murder. A young lady was found in an unresponsive state. It is still a very active scene and there is not much we can give in terms of information at the moment."
Yesterday the community described their shock at the series of events.
Leonard DeSilva, 80, of Middle Road, said: "It's terrible, it's awful. It's normally so peaceful and quiet around here, I can't believe it."
A 24-year-old neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: "I've known her pretty much all my life. She was a decent girl. I'm very shocked, I would have never thought something like this could have happened to someone like her."
Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to contact the Serious Crime Unit on 295 0011 or the 24-hour confidential Crime Stoppers hot line on 1-800-623-8477.
