…family, colleagues call for thorough probe into death of nurse at Mahdia
Scores of nurses attached to the Linden Complex Hospital, Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice), along with family members of Schenise Apple, who was found dead in Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), took to the streets of Linden on Monday calling for justice for the nurse.
Apple, who was a nurse attached to the Mahdia Hospital, was discovered hanging at the Nurses’ Hostel in Mahdia on July 2, 2019. It was alleged that she committed suicide.
The post-mortem examination released by the police on Friday revealed that Apple died as a result of asphyxiation and as such, the matter is being treated as a homicide, however, no arrest has been made as Police continue their investigations.
On Monday nurses and family members gathered outside of the Linden Hospital Complex for two hours, chanting slogans calling or justice to be served in relation to Apple’s death.
Holding placards bearing slogans such as “Better security needed”, “Nurses rights are human rights”, “Justice for Nurse Apple” and “What affects one affects all” family, friends and nurses marched along Casaurina Drive, Mackenzie, as they shouted “Justice for Nurse Apple”, “We need justice” and “Nurse Apple need justice”.
Speaking with Guyana Times International, one of the nurses related that Apple, who resided in Linden, was a quiet and jovial person who did not deserve such a death. The nurse related that the protest action was birthed by a group of nurses from Linden, who felt that action by Police is being delayed and they were worried that this will be another murder investigation that goes cold or unsolved.
“We want justice for our colleague. She was sent there to do a job and she was there serving the people diligently. She should have been protected. The system failed her. She was such a young soul definitely gone too soon and we believe that if we do not stand up and demand action, nothing will be done,” she said.
The nurses said they will continue to protest as often as possible for as long as possible until a thorough and transparent investigation is done and justice is served.
Meanwhile, also speaking with this publication, Apple’s grandmother, Volda Daniels, claimed that the family members were not allowed to witness the post-mortem examination. She, however, claimed that she saw what appeared to be burn marks on the woman’s neck prior to the examination.
“We want a speedy investigation, they must find the culprits…She was a quiet and decent young woman. That girl never in no story with nobody, why they do her like that? She left here, they send she so to work and now she’s dead. I’m calling on Ramjattan, the Security Minister and Health Minister Volda Lawrence, let them go to Region Eight and investigate fully …she was working and she served this country as a young woman, she had a bright future and I think they should do something,” Daniels lamented.
The woman added that she buried her son only nine months ago under similar circumstances and the family is yet to receive justice. She was referring to Sherwin Apple, who was killed some time ago after he was implicated in the alleged rape of the Linden minor which was caught on video. Daniels noted, however, that justice must be served for her granddaughter as she called for staff at the hospital to also be investigated.
“Why is it the Government taking so long to hold these people?” the dead woman’s uncle questioned on Monday. The family is also claiming that someone at the location was using the deceased woman’s cellphone after her death.
Prior to her death, Apple had been working at the location for nine months. She was initially expected to work there for a year. Minister Lawrence has since made calls for a full probe into the nurse’s death. The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) has also joined the calls.
Meanwhile, a usually reliable source from Mahdia, Region Eight, told this publication that there are reports in the mining town that the nurse was murdered and the suicide was staged. “Everyone saying that the young lady was murdered. They are saying that from how the body was discovered, it was as if it was placed there, and who would hang themselves with a towel? It just doesn’t add up,” the source opined.
Speaking with this publication, a nurse said that no one saw Apple during the day of July 2, but that was nothing strange.
“It is normal when you finish the night shift to sleep most of the day. So after no one saw her, we didn’t take it for anything,” a nurse told this publication.
However, at about 18:15h, another colleague inquired about Apple and it was then that they visited the hostel and found her body.
The police were notified and the woman’s body was removed.
