Corentyne man who set house alight commits suicide

Michael Lewis, the 34-year-old man who set his family’s home alight and doused them with gasoline on Monday night at Brighton village on the Corentyne has reportedly committed suicide.

Reports are that the man used a syringe and injected himself with a poisonous substance; his lifeless body was found around 0900hrs on Tuesday morning in the backlands of Number 36 Village.

On Monday night, Candacie Khedaroo, 28, said that Lewis, who was reputed husband, earlier in the afternoon attempted to beat her with a hammer.

She related that she left the home for a few days with her children since Lewis was always in a habit of physically abusing her.
She told the Guyana Chronicle that she returned on Monday afternoon to pick-up her clothing to move in with her mother when the accused began hurling remarks at her . He started to beat her in the process.

She said she subsequently returned with her mother but did not see Lewis. Khedaroo said she asked around and since no one saw him, along with her mother Bibi Khedaroo, and the children , they ventured into the home. Lewis then pounced on the family.

In the process the man doused his wife , children and his mother-in-law with gasoline and attempted to set them afire. The woman and her mother managed fight the man off.

The suspect then set their two bed room wooden house ablaze and later fled the scene.