Fear grips Victoria residents

THE “SENSELESS AND WICKED ACT” RESULTING IN THE RECENT MURDER OF
WOODROW JOHN LEPPS, 42, has jolted residents of Victoria village.
Residents found John, as he was popularly known, dead in an abandoned building with a wound
to his head and blood stains on some walls.
“This is a senseless and wicked act and I am very angry,” a villager just wants to be called
Michael told www.aroundtheregions.com.
“This hurts! The man doesn’t trouble or get in the way of anyone, so we want to know who
would do such a wicked act. Many of us villagers who needed help getting someone to fetch
some of our load it was De (Lepps) who was always willing. While he never demanded any fixed
payment, he accepted whatever you gave to him.,” Michael recalled.
Residents of Victoria, the historic East Coast Demerara village at the centre of Guyana’s Village
Movement after slavery ended, are still closely knit and demand police apprehend John’s
killer(s) whose motives weren’t robbery.

“I believe that maybe whoever committed the murder wanted to silenced him because maybe
they felt that he knew too much and they felt that this was the only way out. However, we are
confident that if the police really do its investigation the killer/s will be found,” Jenny, visibly
upset, said.
“John was a special needs man who always greeted persons with a smile so to hear that someone
could murder him is beyond comprehension,” she remembered, recalling that for years he helped
maintain their drains and carried their load.
A villager requesting anonymity warned that Victoria is swiftly becoming unsafe and dangerous
with the presence of these deviant youths. The villager disclosed obliquely opposite where John

was murdered, is a very popular liming spot, but close by is where some of the deviant youths
would hang out.
“Some months ago, I had cause to raise my voice in objection to what was taking place close by.
I was told that I am seeking to block the ‘youth men’ progress and should chill because all they
doing is ‘teking’ a smoke and nothing more. But what many didn’t realise, is that drug users and
sellers will breed their own ilk and those responsible for John’s death may not be villagers but
may very well be those who traverse in the village with their drug trade,” the villager counselled.
The resident continued: “The fact that they could have killed someone without considering the
fact that this man is particularly useless to them and that he is loved by many despite his
disabilities tells you that the killer/s is/are cold and desperate. Therefore, I am appealing to the
police to step up their visits as I can tell you that the police scarcely raid the village, because it is
considered as quiet and one that doesn’t have any problems. But I guess that with this murder it’s
something for them to consider.”
An elderly resident, Frank, admitted that residents are panic-stricken by John’s murder. He too
wants increase presence of lawmen in the village
“I am still trying to understand the reason/s for this murder. John was a peaceful young man who
always said yes to whatever you asked him to do. I don’t know if he may have done something
for his killer/s and they now feel that for them to feel safe they need to kill him. Whatever it is,
the entire community is hurting as anyone who met John and would have interacted with him
knows that he had a very unique personality.”
“My only desire is that they find those responsible and the community can return to feeling
safe as we used to,” Frank appealed.