The gruesome murder that shocked Pouderoyen 20 years ago

By Danielle Campbell-Lowe

In the silent hell of a killer’s unspoken remorse, the haunting sights and sounds come flooding back.
The screams of the children; their desperate appeal for a chance to live; the gentle splash of their tiny bodies hitting the water; the sight of them fighting with the current, frantically trying to keep their heads above the swelling tide and then finally, their bodies going under; sinking below the surface.
This is how some persons envisage the existence of 46-year-old Oral Hendricks, who has spent the last 20 years on death row at the Camp Street Prisons.
On February 5, 1996, Hendricks was found guilty and sentenced to death for the December 12, 1992 murder of his three foster children, two-year-old Travis Bunbury; four-year-old Althea George and seven-year-old Jason Braithwaithe.
Hendricks is now serving a life sentence after managing to have his death sentence commuted two weeks following a motion filed by Attorney Nigel Hughes and heard by Chief Justice, Ian Chang.
Persons close to Hendricks have adamantly disputed that he is the ruthless, callous killer that he was made out to be and contend that the mild-mannered prisoner must have been pushed to the brink, sparking his violent rampage.
In 1992, 25-year-old Hendricks, of Middle Street, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara, was part of the security detail at a hotel when he became involved with Carol Braithwaithe.
Sometime after, Braithwaithe was forced to relocate to a place on the East Coast of Demerara known as “Skull Mountain” since her life had allegedly been threatened by someone.
Braithwaithe left her three children behind since Hendricks was very fond of them and had previously proven capable of caring for them.
Some villagers recalled that after the weeks turned into months and Braithwaithe failed to return, Hendricks carried the children to the West Demerara Hospital and left them in the care of nurses there.
Early in December, medical personnel recalled that Hendricks returned to the hospital and collected the children and two days later, they were found dead in a canal.
However, Hendricks contacted their mother and informed her that the hospital staff had refused to return the children and had only promised to return them if she turned up.
Guyana Times International spoke to an elderly man, Cyril Prince, who said that he along with Hendricks and another man worked together as live-in caretakers of the Speedway Hotel at Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara.
Prince recalled that Hendricks soon became friendly with a woman, Carol Braithwaithe and frequently brought her to overnight at the guest house.
The man noted that one day, Hendricks turned up with Braithwaithe and her belongings and before long; three minor children joined the couple on the property.

Warning
Although, warning Hendricks about the breach of his contractual agreement and the consequences of having strangers on the property, Braithwaithe and her children remained at the hotel.
Prince said that immediately after Braithwaithe moved in, she began leaving in the evenings to visit a sick grandmother at the Palms while Hendricks prepared dinner, bathed the children, washed their clothes (in the river just behind the property) and even braided the hair of the girl, Althea George.
He recalled that in the wee hours of the morning, Braithwaithe could be seen disembarking various interior-bound trucks, but said he never heard the couple arguing.
Prince claimed that he again warned Hendricks that Braithwaithe’s behaviour was sure to create trouble in the relationship, but Hendricks insisted that he adored her and would try his best to make it work.
The elderly man recalled overhearing that Braithwaithe and her children had previously resided with a sister who eventually evicted them, owing to her free-spirited lifestyle.
He explained that a short time after, Hendricks acquired some building material and had already transported it to the city where he disclosed plans to construct a dwelling place for himself, the woman and her three children.
According to Prince, the woman soon vanished, leaving the children behind and Hendricks continued to cook, clean and keep house; acting as a father figure to the children.
However, he would later learn that Hendricks had taken the children one afternoon to his home village at Pouderoyen where he devised a plan to prove a point to Braithwaithe.
It is not clear what the argument was between Braithwaithe and Hendricks, but police contended that Hendricks led the children to an abandoned canal aback of the village where he drowned them, one by one.

Plea in vain
Reports indicate that Hendricks was asked by the four-year-old Althea George, “Uncle, but is why you doing this to we?”
Despite her childlike plea for mercy, she was tossed into the canal just after her younger brother sank to his watery grave.
The older boy Jason Braithwaithe, who was the last to be killed, managed to swim out but was pursued by his killer and slashed on the throat before being tossed into the canal a second time.
On the second attempt, the lifeless, bleeding body of the boy was held under water to ensure he was dead.
When questioned about why he committed such a gruesome crime, Hendricks said that he and his partner did not have any problems and “use to live good”.
“I was planning to build a house for us on the East Coast,” he told investigators.
In a statement, Hendricks claimed that he and the children had gone to the West Bank Demerara to a friend’s house to cut his hair.
He said while at the friend’s house, a neighbour requested that he assist her in killing a snake, but after he was done; he fell asleep. He could not recall anything beyond that point.
A close childhood female friend of Hendricks said that he has already paid his debt to society and should be given a fair chance by the system towards rebuilding his life, and general rehabilitation.
“He’s good. He’s not a rowdy person or a trouble maker. He likes to work and he was always quiet,” the woman said.
In his motion, Hendricks claimed that his constitutional rights were violated since he was denied access to a lawyer during his interrogation and was forced into signing a confession after being told that his signature would be exchanged for food and water.