The 31-year-old father who went berserk and chopped his two children and a stepchild was on Wednesday arrested by police.
John Blanchard and his family in happier times
John Blanchard reportedly hacked the three children, two of whom died while the third remains critical at the Georgetown Public Hospital, while they were asleep at their house at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara. Guyana Times International was reliably informed that the children aged 10, 6 and 4 were severely chopped about their bodies. The gruesome discovery was made at approximately 22:30h at the family’s home located at Dr Charles New Housing Scheme commonly known as “Ivan’s Street”, Soesdyke.
The murder weapon was recovered, and is lodged at the Timehri Police Station.
The dead are indentfied as the man’s 10-year old step-daughter Belika Blanchard Singh and his four- year-old son Daniel Blanchard. The eldest child attended the St Mary’s Primary School, while the younger child was a pupil of the Soesdyke No. 2 Nursery School.
Six-year-old Joy Blanchard, who is a first grade pupil of the St Mary’s Primary School, sustained numerous chop wounds to her body and was, up to press time, hooked up to a life support machine.
Police spokesperson Ivelaw Whittaker, in a release, said investigations into the incident are continuing.
“Belika Blanchard and Daniel Blanchard were pronounced dead on arrival at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre…” Whitaker added.
Meanwhile, Guyana Times International understands that the man and his family moved to Soesdyke three months ago. He was described as a dedicated worker who sells boiled corn at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) and in the city to maintain his family. He was also described by neighbours as family oriented, although he seemed to have frequent arguments with his wife.
Why Blanchard may have wanted to commit such heinous crimes is still to be revealed. This publication was reliably informed that his wife left their Soesdyke home to go into the hinterland and he did not approve of her decision.
Hours after the most gruesome attack to hit the Soesdyke area, relatives as well residents of the area were still trying to come to grips with the fact that two innocent children were hacked to death.
The accused’s sister, Annie Blanchard told this publication that she spoke to her brother minutes after the he committed the act. The man’s sister said she was also contacted by her brother’s wife who was in Mahdia at the time who pleaded with her to check on him.
The woman said she was not in the habit of answering her phones at night, she received a call from another sibling at approximately 21:45h. It was at that point that Blanchard said she sensed that something was wrong with her brother.
“I am very close to my brother and when I checked my cell phone, then I realised that he tried contacting me,” the tearful woman noted.
She told media operatives that when contacted by her sister, she called her brother almost immediately who told her he was sorry and was about to kill himself.
The aggrieved woman said she begged him not to do anything “stupid”. “I say John, wait till I come, when I come you could kill yo self in front of me,” Blanchard added that her brother begged her not to be angry with him while urging her not to cry. “All I could do was tell him I love him”, the sister said as tears flowed from her face.
“I love my brother; what he did was wrong but something had to trigger my brother. He loved his children and his family,” she remarked.
A rocky marriage
Guyana Times International understands that John had made several attempts to save his marriage even after his wife admitted to having an affair with another man.
The man’s sister explained that on one occasion, while he was in the interior, he found out that his wife had an affair and he moved out of the family’s home but later returned and forgave his wife, making every attempt to “salvage their marriage”. Relatives said that the accused never showed signs of aggression moreover an abusive side to indicate that he would have hurt the children.
The man was seen at a creek earlier Tuesday with his children enjoying themselves.
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