Darcy Hosein always expected her common-law husband Dipchand Heeralal to die from a heart attack. But when she saw him and his lover Radha Baldeo lying dead together in his Williamsville ranch on Thursday, Hosein said it was she who almost suffered the heart attack.
Wiping away tears yesterday, Hosein said she never knew Heeralal, 53, was living with Baldeo.
She said he returned to their Williamsville home every morning and collected food, market goods and a charged battery which powered the little shack he built on a two-acre agricultural plot he received from Caroni (1975) Limited five years ago. Hosein said he enjoyed being on the land where planted crops and reared livestock, so he had eventually stopped living home.
However, she never knew that Baldeo, also 53, had moved in with Heeralal at the ranch. “I met her (Baldeo) 10 years ago when she run away with him (Heeralal) but I thought that done.
She had gone back to her husband.
When I heard someone kill him I went down there to see and I could have fall down and died from a heart attack when I realise she died with him. It really hurting me,” a tearful Hosein told the T&T Guardian yesterday.
She said she did not know who killed the couple, adding there was no malice on either side of the family. She said Baldeo’s husband was Heeralal’s good friend.
Hosein admitted she often worried about her husband and told him to come back home.
“He was suffering from heart disease and I used to worry about if he taking his tablets. He used to go there and drink alcohol. They used to all drink together. I could not handle that,” Hosein recalled.
“I stayed here with my children and I never went to see where he lives. He always told me to call him before I come down there. Now I know why.”
The ranch where the couple was murdered is situated off a gravel track along American Flat Road, Ecclesville, Williamsville. The closest neighbour is about half a mile away and the area has no electricity.
Brother-in-law Kamaludin Mohammed said Heeralal was happy living on the land. He later started to work at a duck farm located opposite his ranch.
“It quiet and nice. He could do as he please. We knew he had the other woman here but what could we say? It was not our business,” Mohammed said.
“Radha children used to come here and lime too. They worked together on the duck farm. Her husband used to visit. That was how they lived.” Mohammed described Heeralal as a nice man who loved to work hard.
Romullus Madho, who is married to Heeralal’s sister, said he was called Kumar Sanu (Indian playback singer) in the community because he loved to sing.
Police said yesterday that they were unclear about the motive for the murders. Heeralal was still wearing his jewellery when he was found dead but the house had been ransacked. Heeralal and Baldeo were last seen alive around 5 pm on Wednesday. On Corpus Christ when a relative went to check on them, they found the couple lying dead from gunshot wounds. The double murders took the murder toll to 232 for this year.
Meanwhile, several farmers in the Williamsville area expressed concern about the double homicide.
Duck farmer Harripersad Dhanpath said, “Right now I am afraid to stay here but what can I do? I worked hard to built my livelihood.
We are just praying that things will get better in this country when it comes to crime.”
He said there had been an increase in praedial larceny in the Williamsville district.
“They even steal the coconuts from my front tree. They stealing crops and anything they could find,” Harripersad said, calling on the authorities to give proper resources to the Praedial Larceny Squad.
Gangadaye Mahadeo also said the murders had left farmers scared to work in the fields.
“Williamsville and Gasparillo are prime agricultural areas and we produce food for the nation but when people are not safe to work in their fields how can we produce? We want more patrols,” mMahadeo said.
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Smaddy find out. Check di gal husband….. Di wife know tuh she didn’t kill him but she lie bout dat part she did know.