Co-worker confesses to killing Mazaruni shopkeeper

Last Updated on Thursday, 3 August 2023, 10:26 by Denis Chabrol

A man has confessed to killing a shopkeeper at ‘Mer Meria’ Backdam, Surinamo Landing, Middle Mazaruni River, police said Thursday.

The suspect, 34-year old Fabian Smith, admitted to stabbing 55-year old Andrew “Shortman” Harris, during a video interview at the Bartica Police Station on Wednesday afternoon. The Guyana Police Force said the suspect “confessed to stabbing the victim during an argument.”

The incident occurred between July 31, 2023, and August 1, 2023

Police said Harris and the suspect had been working together on a newly constructed shop owned by a 52-year-old businesswoman of Stewartville, West Coast Demerara, for the past ten days.

According to the businesswoman, at about 10 AM on August 1, she received a phone call from the suspect who told her he had found Harris dead at the shop.

“The matter was reported to the police, who visited the area where they found the body of Harris in a slouched position on a bench, with what appeared to be blood on his jersey and on the ground where he sat”, police said.

Detectives said they examined the body and observed a stab wound, about 3 inches in width, to the victim’s upper left chest.

The suspect was subsequently arrested at a nearby camp and taken into custody.