Miner beaten to death, two injured after gold theft accusation

A 32-year-old miner was allegedly beaten to death while two other men were seriously injured during a violent attack at a camp along the Siparuni River on Tuesday morning.

Dead is Rowell La Cruz, called “Kabaloo,” of Warapoka Village, North West District. According to the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the incident occurred at about 10:00 hrs at a camp in Region Eight.

Preliminary investigations revealed that La Cruz and another male, both employed at a dredging operation, were in the kitchen area when three men approached them and accused them of stealing gold from a sluice box.

The men were reportedly ordered to a nearby watch camp, where they met another male. Police said the suspects, who were allegedly armed with a handgun, cutlasses, and a mattock handle, then dealt the men several blows about their bodies before leaving the area.

The injured men were later assisted by public-spirited citizens and taken to the riverfront. However, La Cruz reportedly succumbed to his injuries while being transported. His body was subsequently placed at a nearby camp.

Police ranks later visited the scene and found La Cruz’s body lying motionless with marks of violence about his body. He was escorted to the Linden Hospital Complex Mortuary, where a doctor pronounced him dead on arrival. His body is being kept there pending a post-mortem examination.

The two other injured men, a 36-year-old of Blygezight, East Coast Demerara, and Fair View Village, North Rupununi, and a 25-year-old miner of Paramakatoi Village, North Pakaraimas, were taken to separate medical facilities, where they were seen by medical personnel and admitted.

Police are now searching for the three suspects as the investigation continues.