SOESDYKE, EAST BANK DEMERARA — The quiet Ivan Road community was rocked late Friday night by the discovery of a gruesome crime scene that left one woman dead and her partner hospitalised after what appears to be a suspected murder-suicide attempt.
Fifty-year-old Bibi Salima Persaud, a housewife known to neighbours as friendly and reserved, was found motionless in her home with multiple injuries, including a deep wound to her throat. Her common-law husband, 38-year-old mechanic Dinesh Ram—also known as “Paul”—was found groaning in pain outside the home, lying in a pool of rainwater with a green substance around his mouth, believed to be pesticide poison.
The two lived together in a modest wooden home raised on stilts about three feet above the ground. According to their son, Sankar Persaud, arguments between his mother and Ram were common, usually sparked by jealousy. “He always said she had another man because she was always on her phone,” he said. “But they always made up afterward.”
Sankar lives just next door, in a concrete structure east of the victim’s house. On the night of the incident, July 4th, around 11:00 PM, he and his brother were returning home when they heard Ram groaning in the yard. They found him lying in water from the heavy rainfall and immediately grew concerned. When Sankar called out for his mother and got no response, he rushed into the house—and made the horrific discovery.
“I found her lying there… on the floor… not moving. I knew something was wrong,” he said, visibly shaken. He called the police right away.
When police arrived, they found Ram still in the yard, reportedly semi-conscious. Officers noted the green substance around his mouth and immediately transported him to the Diamond Regional Hospital, where he is now admitted under police guard.
Inside the home, officers observed the victim lying face up with visible injuries to her forehead, mouth, wrist, hand, neck, and face. A kitchen knife covered in what appeared to be blood was found near her body. A bottle believed to contain pesticide poison was discovered near the door.
The couple’s history of conflict, while known to relatives, had never escalated to reported violence before. Police are now treating the matter as an alleged murder and possible attempted suicide. Statements are being collected from relatives and neighbours, and investigations are ongoing.
This incident marks another tragic chapter in a string of domestic disputes in Guyana that have ended fatally. Residents of the area expressed shock and sadness, with many describing Bibi as “a kind woman who didn’t deserve this.”
Police are urging anyone with information to come forward as they continue piecing together the events leading up to Friday night’s tragedy.
