Chopped Barrackpore woman still in hospital

Vashti Suraj-Sookram, the woman who was chopped by her husband, who then took his own life, is still in intensive care.

The 30-year-old Barrackpore mother of two had surgery at the San Fernando General Hospital during the week and was recovering.

Her right wrist and left arm were almost severed in the domestic dispute, but doctors managed to reattach them.

On Friday, her uncle Mohan Selvon spoke briefly by phone.

"Since the night of the attack, she was responsive, so she knows what happened," he said. "She had the surgery, and is talking."

The violent attack happened on Monday at about 10 pm at the family’s home at Kanhai Road South. Suraj-Sookram and her husband David Sookram, 38, a mechanic, had a quarrel, and he began chopping her.

The couple and their children, eight and 12, lived with Suraj-Sookram’s parents.

Suraj-Sookram’s screams alerted everyone in the house and her mother, Rita Selvon, 65, intervened to try to stop her son-in-law. Selvon's right hand was injured, and Sookram ran off. He took a nearby bottle and drank the liquid in it. He collapsed and died at the back of the house.

A few days before the brutal attack, the couple argued over their impending separation, and he left the house.

Sookram was not known to be violent, and the grieving family said they were shocked over the incident.

Cpl Suliman, WPC Charles and PCs Babwah, Singh and Rampersad of the Southern Division visited the scene as well as Homicide Bureau Region III police.

An autopsy on Sookram's body is set for next week, pending the results of a covid19 test.

Help for domestic abuse

Several NGOs help victims of domestic abuse, such as the Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CADV) and the International Women's Resource Network (IWRN). IWRN is a female-centric organisation that seeks to inspire, support, empower, guide, and help people.

For more information on eradicating gender-based violence in Trinidad and Tobago and beyond, people can call CADV at 624-0402 or IWRN at 795-9531.