Man arrested for allegedly killing grandmother, dumping body in alleyway

Last Updated on Thursday, 23 March 2023, 6:25 by Denis Chabrol

Patricia Bovell

A man has been arrested in connection with the suspected killing of his grandmother whose decomposing body was found in a nearby alleyway, the Guyana Police Force said.

Dead is 89-year old Patricia Bovell of Russell Street, Charlestown between Broad and Howes Street.

The woman’s decomposing body was found on March 22 in an alleyway after neighbours reported a stench. “The Police, acting on this information, went to this location and found a body of a female in a partially decomposed state, wrapped in a blue and white sheet, among garbage. The body was naked,” police said.

Police have arrested 27-year old Yannick Gilpin who continued to maintain that he took his grandmother to the Georgetown Public Hospital in a taxi on March 19.

However, neighbours said that at about 4 AM on March 19, they heard Ms Bovell shouting “murder, murder” for about 5 to 10 minutes and there was silence afterwards.

Police say the woman’s niece first reported that her aunt was missing when she went to her residence and was told that she was at the hospital.

The woman told police that she went to the hospital but there was no trace of her there. Police said they also checked and there was no record that Ms Bovell was ever taken there. “Checks were made at the Georgetown Public Hospital by the Police, which revealed that the now-deceased woman was never at GPHC, as stated by Gilpin,” police said.

Mr Gilpin has maintained his account to investigators, police said.