Buxton killer had violent streak, quiet exterior -neighbour
By Courtney Jones
The perpetrator of one of the most brutal multiple killings in Guyanese history has been described by neighbours as having a quiet exterior which hid an unpleasant and violent personality. Securicor operations supervisor, Raul Herod who killed almost his entire household in a bloody shooting spree at Buxton Side Line Dam in the early hours of Wednesday morning before torching the family house and killing himself, seemed to have had a vicious and deadly streak. An elderly neighbour, who did not want her name mentioned, told Stabroek News yesterday that she had known Herod since he was a child and that he always displayed a "very violent temper". She said that as he grew older, it was evident that he could not control his temper. "I think that from his youth, he displayed this very bad temper but as he got older he became more and more vicious in his behaviour especially to his family members," the woman said. She added that Herod was not "the type to go out on the road and assault a person and I remember him being very neatly dressed carrying his briefcase going to work. But there was always in him a sort of pent up viciousness that gave the impression that he could wait for a long time to hit back at a person," the woman said. The woman, upset at Wednesday's events, also said that there was always a conflict situation at the Herod home, but that to all intents and purposes, things really got bad after Herod married last December, and his wife Denise, a former Securicor employee, moved in with the rest of the family. She stated that as the exchanges between Denise and Herod's grandmother Angela, mother Shirley and aunt Patricia became more acrimonious, Herod began to nourish a festering resentment against his family. She said that after he began working with Securicor he became insufferable and acted as if the gun he carried gave him infinite power. Another neighbour told this newspaper that she tried to talk to him as a neighbour and even advised him to live with his wife somewhere else but to no avail. She alleged that when Herod got home from work Denise would complain to him whereupon a family quarrel would instantly erupt punctuated with loud swearing. "Too many people were living in that house and my impression was that the children were very much affected from his [Herod's] behaviour." Another neighbour said she and many of her friends did not attend the grandmother's ninety-seventh birthday celebration last Saturday because of the attitude of the killer. Meanwhile, his sister Avril, also a Securicor employee, who escaped the bloodbath only because she was at work at the time confirmed that her brother had no good relations with neighbours. She said that he was always boasting that he was a marksman so when he shot he would not miss. "Whenever there was a quarrel he would always say that he could end it now and ensured that his gun was where we could all see it," Avril said. The woman who lost two children in the bloodbath said her brother frequently made her working environment hell because of her relations with his wife. The family told Stabroek News that they were still discussing the funeral for those slain, but that this would have to be some time next week since port-mortem examinations on the bodies would be carried out today. They said that relatives were due in the country for the burials. Canada-based Guyanese and native of Buxton, Charles McRae, has promised to begin a fund-raising drive in Toronto to see the rebuilding of the Herod's home. Up to yesterday, Avril and her son Roger were staying at relatives in Buxton. Meanwhile, when contacted yesterday, a Director of Securicor in Guyana, David Affonso, said the company had no statement to make at this time either on Herod being allowed to take home a pistol with two clips of ammunition or on his suitability for the job as operations supervisor. A statement from the Trinidad-based security firm had described Herod as being promoted based on "his consistent and exemplary performance." However, in a letter to Stabroek News, former operations manager of Securicor, Merril Hyman, said he was always troubled by the attitude of Herod, who worked under him. "I was directly involved in shaping Raul Herod's development during the period 1994 to 1997. It has always been my expressed opinion that he handled anger poorly and found difficulty in appreciating and solving the numerous personal problems he constantly experienced," Hyman wrote. He said that "had better judgement prevailed", Herod would have been given a position more in keeping with his qualities and allowing for the exercise of greater control of his activities. The statement from Securicor signed by Affonso also said that the company was working closely with the police investigating the incident. It said the company was "deeply saddened by this tragic loss" and extended its sympathy to all members of the Herod family and the Buxton community.
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