House of death for sale

FOUR months after Sangre Grande school teacher Margaret Guevarra was found shot to death in the master bedroom of her home, the Home Mortgage Bank has advertised her four-bedroom house for sale. An ad was placed in the daily newspapers on June 18 and sources said the asking price is $1.2 million.

Guevarra’s relatives said yesterday the mother of five took out a loan from the bank two years ago and built her dream house with the intention of allowing her children to live comfortably. Relatives insisted that each month Guevarra paid her loan on time, but following her murder, the loan became outstanding and the bank decided to sell the house.

According to the ad, the house is located at LP 53 Mandillon Road in Coalmine, Sangre Grande. It is a two-storey single family residence on 10,000 square feet of freehold land. The building area is 3,095 square feet. The first floor consists of four bedrooms inclusive of a master bedroom, two bathrooms and balcony.

The total size of the upper floor is 1,170 square feet, while the ground floor has a living room, kitchen, dining room, study, storeroom, laundry room and car port. On February 26, Guevarra’s blood-drenched body was found in the master bedroom while a male relative was also found in the bedroom with his face blown away. A 12-gauge shotgun was found next to Guevarra’s body.

Up until yesterday there appeared to be no buyers for the house but the male relative who remains warded at hospital reportedly used his thumb print to give another male relative power of attorney to negotiate with the bank in an effort to prevent the house being sold.

Guevarra’s five children were taken away by a maternal aunt following the murder and they continue to be under this woman’s care. Guevarra’s eldest daughter began visiting the male relative who is at the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital in March.

Yesterday, sources said that the man was moved to Ward 15 and remains under constant police guard. A relative said that the victim’s five children are still hurting and want answers in order to get closure. They want to know why their mother was shot dead.

According to a relative of Guevarra,, the woman who was a teacher had complained about physical abuse at the hands of a close male relative but never reported the assault to police.

When Newsday visited the house yesterday, it appeared to be abandoned with grass taking over the yard.