Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 09, 2009 News
– 11-year-old daughter watched brutal murder
A 29-year-old mother of three had her stomach sliced open by her husband, who had accused her of having a relationship with a neighbour.
Latoya Woolford, of 2041 Hummingbird Street, Festival City, succumbed yesterday morning at the Georgetown Public Hospital after receiving several stab wounds about the body from her husband, Charles Woolford, who subsequently tried to end his life by ingesting a poisonous liquid a few hours after learning of her death.
Latoya Woolford was stabbed on Saturday afternoon at the couple’s home following a heated argument.
The entire ordeal was witnessed by the woman’s 11-year-old daughter Marcia Conway. According to the visibly traumatized child, on Saturday afternoon at around 16:30 hrs, “Mommy was about to go do her friend’s nails, since she was a hairdresser.”
The child related to Kaieteur News that her father, Charles Woolford, walked into the house with a knife behind his back and asked her mother where she was going.
At the time, Woolford was fixing her hair in front of a mirror.
“He turned her around and just started stabbing mommy, and all de time he pulling de knife up and down inside mommy,” the 11-year-old recounted.
According to a relative who lives in the upper flat of the house, after receiving the stab wounds, Latoya Woolford staggered out of the apartment and managed to climb up a flight of stairs.
“She called out to my mother, and then she said that ‘Tony’ had stabbed her,” the relative recalled.
She disclosed that Woolford collapsed to the ground on two occasions, as her intestines began falling out. By this time, her husband had proceeded to the gate and was threatening to harm anyone who came close to him.
Woolford’s daughter told this newspaper that, after inflicting significant damage on her mother with the knife, her father just pulled it out and then calmly collected some cash and his passport from his wife’s purse before leaving the scene.
Frantic relatives rushed the badly injured woman first to the Davis Memorial Hospital, where she was initially treated before being transferred to the Georgetown Hospital.
“All the time she was conscious. Everything happened so fast we did not have to wait at the hospital. But we did not expect her to die,” the relative said.
But despite undergoing emergency surgery almost immediately, Woolford succumbed to her injuries at around 06:30 hrs yesterday morning. Sources at the hospital told Kaieteur News that the woman died due to the massive damage she received to her kidneys, as well as internal bleeding.
Her daughter told this newspaper that following the stabbing, her father kept calling the home to tell his children that he would be sending their paternal grandmother to collect them.
But news of his wife’s death apparently caused him to panic.
“He called and told us that he was going to kill himself, he wanted to go with his wife,” the relative stated.
Hours later, the dead woman’s family members were contacted by the Brickdam Police Station and were informed that the attacker had turned up at the hospital in a critical state after ingesting a toxic substance.
He was immediately admitted to the hospital, and doctors at the institution were up to yesterday afternoon desperately trying to save his life.
One of the dead woman’s relatives told Kaieteur News, “I don’t want Charles to die, I just want he go to Camp Street Prison so that the family could get justice for Latoya.” She pointed out that even if the couple had a misunderstanding, Charles Woolford had no right to kill his wife.
The same relative opined that the argument had stemmed from Charles accusing his wife of having an extra- martial relationship with a neighbour who lives opposite their home.
But other relatives refuted Charles’s claim, saying that Latoya was a friendly person and that Charles was very jealous.
The relative said that Charles may have thought that Latoya was going to meet the same neighbour on the day of the incident.
Neighbours described Latoya Woolford as a quiet person. The woman leaves to mourn her three children — Marcia Conway, 11, Macyann Woolford, 7, and Shemar Woolford, 4.
Police said that while murders at the hands of bandits have decreased this year, the number of domestic murders is a cause for worry.
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
Apr 19, 2024
SportsMax – West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews delivered a stellar all-round performance to lead her team to a commanding 113-run victory over Pakistan Women in the first One Day...Kaieteur News – For years, the disciples of Bharrat Jagdeo have woven a narrative of economic success during his tenure... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Waterfalls Magazine – On April 10, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]