Barrackpore mother attacked by husband still in ICU

Barrackpore mother of two Vashti Sookram remains warded in a stable condition at the San Fernando General Hospital after being seriously wounded during a domestic dispute at her home in Barrackpore on Monday.

Sookram’s uncle Mohan Selvon gave Newsday the update on Wednesday.

After she had emergency surgery, family members were able to visit Sookram on Wednesday morning.

Sookram, 30, had a heated argument with her husband David, 38, over their impending divorce when he began chopping her with a cutlass at their home at Kanhai South Trace.

Believing her dead, David drank a substance and ran to the back of the house, where he collapsed and died. Despite being chopped multiple times, Vashti was still alive and was taken to the hospital.

Her mother Rita Selvon, 65, said was also chopped, on her left hand, while trying to intervene.

The couple’s children – an eight-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl – were at home during the incident.

Selvon said, “The younger one is asking about his mom, but the family is telling him she will be fine and discharged soon.”

Both children will receive free counselling at their schools this week.

While Selvon did not tell his seven-year-old daughter about the incident, he said she eventually saw the news on TV and began crying.

Funeral arrangements for David Sookram will be made after his autopsy is completed.