Elderly couple beaten by Spanish-speaking intruder at Lusignan home

A 70-year-old man and his wife is recovering from injuries after they were allegedly beaten by a foreign national, who they discovered in their Lusignan, East Coast Demerara yard early last Saturday.

Lakeram Bridgemohan, 70, and his wife, Sandra Bridgemohan, 63, were attacked around 06:30 hrs on May 2 after confronting a man they found inside their yard.

Recounting the ordeal to the News Room, Sandra said she and her husband woke up when Lakeram noticed a man in the yard.

She said she quickly changed her clothing and rushed outside, where she saw the suspect attempting to open the door of their car, which was parked in the yard.

“In the meantime while I was changing, my husband walked up to the car and said ‘get out the yard. What you doing in here? Get out the yard,’ not knowing the man had a wooden stick in his hand,” Sandra related.

According to Sandra, the suspect immediately began attacking her husband. “When I rush out he already had the stick squeezing my husband neck, bracing him on the car,” she said.

Sandra said she intervened and pushed the suspect away, but the suspect then turned on her and began striking her with the stick. During the confrontation, Lakeram tried to defend them. “He (Lakeram) turn back and push him (suspect) away,” Sandra said.

The suspect and Lakeram then became engaged in a fight as Sandra screamed for help and called out to her son, who lives in an apartment at the house. Neighbours later responded and helped restrain the suspect until police arrived.

“We tied him up and my daughter called the police. The police came and took him away,” Sandra explained.

The couple later went to the Police station and sought medical attention for their injuries. “We are elderly people, we are both diabetic and hypertensive and it was very difficult,” Sandra said.

She said she continues to experience pain from the attack. “I have a lot of pain, I still have swollen hands, both hands,” she said, adding that her husband suffered injuries to his head and ribs along with several bruises about his body.

“My husband just save me from getting the hit on my head,” Sandra told the News Room.

The suspect, who Sandra said is a Spanish speaker, was charged on Wednesday at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court with two counts of assault. He was remanded to prison and is scheduled to return to court on June 6.

Sandra noted that the investigation proved challenging because an interpreter was needed for the suspect.

She also stated that while there are several Spanish-speaking individuals living in the area, she had never seen the suspect before the incident.