Arson suspected

THE two-storey wooden home of four-year-old murder victim Emily Anamanthodo was destroyed in an early-morning fire yesterday, which investigators believe was an act of arson. The two-bedroom structure was unoccupied since Emily’s mother Anita and step-father Marlon King remain incarcerated at the State Prison on charges of wilful child neglect and murder, respectively.

The child was pronounced dead-on-arrival at San Fernando General Hospital two Mondays ago. An autopsy revealed she had been raped, buggered and tortured. Cause of death was listed as shock and trauma due to a severe beating.

Firefighters and police officers revisited the scene yesterday afternoon in search of clues into the fire. No arrests have been made.

According to police reports, Southern Fire Division was alerted a call of a fire at Batan Drive, Marabella at about 2 am. By the time units arrived, there was nothing that could have been done to save the wooden structure which was already engulfed in flames.

When Newsday visited the area yesterday, small flames were still seen flickering among the burnt ruins. A box of deyas was the only household belongings spared by the blaze.

Eyewitness Chris Maraj, 21, who lives next door, told Newsday he was awakened at about 2 am by crackling sounds and smoke. “On Sunday, I went to bed at 9 pm and the house was in the same condition after police officers visited last week. The yellow caution tape was on the stairway and the house was empty,” Maraj said.

He added that on looking through a window, he saw a wall of flames covering the house next door. Fearing for his own property, Maraj said he ran outside and using a garden hose, started spraying the walls of his home.

“I was not taking any chances with my home and that fire. The house where Emily lived was already covered in flames, so I had to see about my own home,” Maraj explained.

Cathy-Ann Alleyne, 25, the neighbour on the other side, said she grabbed her two children — Melakia, six months and Antonio, seven, and ran out of her house. Her husband Gary, threw buckets of water on their house to prevent it from being ignited by the raging flames.

“The heat was very intense and all we wanted was to make sure our children were safe and our home saved from the fire,” Alleyne said.

Emily’s grandmother Chanardaye Basdeo, who lives three miles away in Snake Alley, said a neighbour informed her at about 9.30 am, that her granddaughter’s home was destroyed. “Regardless of what happened, that house was somebody’s home and nobody deserves to be without a house,” Basdeo said. She also expressed worry that her daughter Anita, if and when she gets bail, would not have a place to stay. “I cannot send her onto the street. She is my child. I made her,” Basdeo said.

Speaking on the fire, Homicide detectives said they were grateful their investigations into Emily’s murder had been concluded as far as evidence-gathering was concerned.