By Gina Martinez
A Richmond Hill man is accused of nearly decapitating his wife in the middle of the street after finding out she met someone online, police said.
Prem Rampersaud, 50, a Guyanese national, is facing charges that he murdered Rajwantie Baldeo, 46, Monday shortly after midnight after she finished her shift at a nearby restaurant, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. As the couple approached the corner of 124th Street and 103rd Avenue, they began to argue and Rampersaud began stabbing her in the throat, abdomen and shoulder, Brown said.
Police said there were two witnesses who observed the crime and saw Rampersaud sawing at her neck with a knife. An ambulance arrived and took Baldeo to Jamaica Hospital, where she died. Rampersaud left the scene of the murder but was arrested a few blocks away on Liberty and 127th streets, police said.
Rampersaud has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the Queens DA. He faces up to 25 years if convicted.
“This was an especially violent crime in which the defendant is accused of viciously taking the life of the woman he purportedly loved by repeatedly stabbing her following a heated verbal argument,” Brown said. “If convicted, her brutal and senseless death merits serious punishment.”
According to police, the couple had been married for 30 years, but had only lived together a few months. Rampersaud gave his wife $9,000 to leave Guyana and move in with him.
Baldeo had just finished a shift at “The Oasis,” a West Indian restaurant on 103-06 Liberty Ave. Employees who worked with her said they had no idea about her personal life.
“She didn’t say anything about her husband,” one employee said. “She had only worked here for four weeks so nobody knew anything. ”
Jahajee Sisters, an organization that highlights domestic violence in the Indo-Caribbean community, released a statement condemning the murder.
“We at Jahajee Sisters are enraged and disgusted by this barbaric act of violence against Rajwantie Baldeo,” they said. “We are deeply saddened as we condemn yet another murder of an Indo-Caribbean woman in New York. We grieve for our fallen sister, and hold her family in our thoughts and prayers.”
They called on Indo-Caribbean organizations, faith-based institutions and members of the community to join them in publicly denouncin the murder of Baldeo.
“We must send the message loudly, clearly and on a regular basis that our community values the life, well-being and freedom of every girl and every woman,” they said. “That there is no place for hatred of women in our homes, our houses of worship, or our institutions. What happened shows that we have a long way to go before all people in our community, regardless of their gender, are valued and respected. We must all be a part of this fight for justice.”
Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmart
