Businesswoman stabbed to death in La Romaine

The woman, 65-year-old Petra Manwaring, was manager of her own firm, Industrial Contracting Company, which undertook repairs of facilities at Petrotrin. Her death came as a shock to neighbours and villagers who had seen her the day before.

“She was a wonderful person who would take time to stop and talk to people on the street,” one neighbour told Newsday yesterday.

Manwaring was last seen alive by her neighbours at about 5 pm on Wednesday.

Her bloody corpse was found in her living room shortly after 10 am yesterday. Villagers rushed to her Southern Main Road, La Romaine home in disbelief on hearing of her death Manwaring’s driver Maurice White was in shock more so because he had gone to her home a couple hours before the body was found to undertake an errand for her. He told Newsday that Manwaring had asked him to pick up a vehicle and take it to the garage for repair.

“I came here at her home at 8.30am and called out to her,” White said. “Her relative told me she will be out in a moment.” White said he waited for an entire hour but Manwaring did not come out of her house so he decided to leave. He said he found this to be very strange but dismissed the thought, thinking that she may have been ill. He also telephoned Manwaring several times but the calls went to voice mail.

Police were yesterday interviewing two of Manwaring’s relatives, one of them who lived with her full time, and the other who White knew was from Chaguanas and visited from time to time.

White said he met Manwaring three years ago and she gave him the job as her chauffeur.

“When work became slow at her company she told me to find another daytime job,” he said, adding that she gave him the work to repair the company’s vehicles when he had the time.