Man held in death of Kaneville woman

Stabroek News – April 6, 2008
By Melissa Charles

A 32-year-old man was taken into custody on Friday night after a 22-year-old woman was found dead in her bedroom shortly after eight on the same night.

Tamasha Riddle of 126 First Field, Kaneville, a mother of two, was discovered dead on her bed by a close neighbour, Judy McCalma.

Relatives of the young woman said that from all indications she had been suffocated. She was found with a pillow on her face but there were no telltale signs of a struggle nor were there marks of violence on her body. A post-mortem examination is expected to be performed tomorrow.

Tamasha Riddle, the only child of Lynette Riddle, was last seen by her mother on Thursday morning when she accompanied her to the Berbice bus park. Lynette Riddle was on her way to Berbice to visit relatives. The woman took Tamasha’s sons six-year-old Troydon and four-year-old Trevon with her.  

Lynette Riddle said that on Friday, the father of Tamasha’s children had called her in Berbice and told her that he had not seen or heard from the young woman since Thursday morning. He asked her to call her daughter.

According to Riddle, the man said Tamasha had called and told him that she had received phone calls from a man who had threatened to kill her because she was “giving him blow.”

Riddle said she called their number in Kaneville, but no one answered the phone and since her grandsons’ father had Tamasha’s cell phone she did not bother calling that number. She said she called Tamasha’s friends and the neighbours to find out if they had seen or heard from the young woman. But no one had.

She then decided to call McCalma who lives close by and asked her to check the house.
McCalma said that when she went over, the house was in darkness and the door was open. She put on the lights in the kitchen and checked the bedroom where she saw Tamasha on the bed lying on her back with a pillow on her face. She alerted the girl’s uncle Norris Riddle, a CID rank who lives next door and the police were called in.

Tamasha’s body was later removed by the Lyken’s funeral parlour.

Riddle told Stabroek News that her daughter had been due to leave Guyana shortly to join her father who resides in the United States and arrangements were being made for her two young children.
The woman said that her daughter had gone through a lot of problems in life and was looking forward to a new beginning overseas.

She said Tamasha had suffered physical abuse at the hands of the father of her children, with whom she had lived for a while; several reports had been made to the police.

Riddle told this newspaper that the father of Tamasha’s children had been remanded to prison on a charge of carnal knowledge, giving her daughter a reprieve from the torment he subjected her to. However, he was released on bail last week Friday. She also said that the reality of her daughter’s death has not yet hit home as she has not seen her body.

Tamasha’s uncle said that when he called her father and told him yesterday morning, he had refused to believe that his daughter was dead. He said the man had made all preparations for Tamasha to join him and could not believe she would not be joining him anymore.

At the Riddle home yesterday, Lynette Riddle was being comforted and assisted by neighbours and relatives who came from Berbice with her, while her grandsons huddled together in a chair.

Neighbours could be heard speculating on who could have killed the young woman. They said Tamasha was well liked, friendly and helpful to those around her.

Police are continuing their investigations into the matter.