A father of three was stabbed to death with a letter-opener late Friday night at his Enterprise, East Coast Demerara home, reportedly after an altercation with a female family member.

Dead is Prince Bedlow, 45, of 205 Enterprise, Section ‘C’. The woman was up to press time still in custody at the Beterverwagting Police station.

Police Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superi-ntendent David Ramnarine, said the incident occurred around 11:00 pm. He said Bedlow reportedly returned home drunk and had an argument with the woman. “He picked up a weapon and advanced towards her and she stabbed him with a letter opener,” the police reported.

Stabroek News understands that prior to the incident, Bedlow had visited a shop obliquely opposite his home, where he played dominoes and had some drinks.

One resident said Bedlow was at the shop from about 9:00 pm to around 10:15 pm when he left for home. The man was last seen drinking a bottle of milk stout and according to one of his friends, Bedlow was “a little tipsy” by the time he left.

“He said he had enough and that he going home...and that was strange because he never said that before,” another person commented. The men at the shop yesterday further stated that five minutes after Bedlow left their company they noticed that all the lights in the house were turned off. About three quarters of an hour later they heard he was dead. No one heard anything.

The shop’s patrons claimed that a stereo set was playing loudly at the business place.

The men all described Bedlow as a “decent fellow” who was just “lil’ miserable” when intoxicated.

One of Bedlow’s sisters, Ingrid Carter, told this newspaper yesterday that she received a call at 10:55 pm, stating that her brother had been stabbed. “When I answered the phone, it was her [the alleged killer]. She was crying and said they had a scuffle and she stab him and that she was rubbing him and she ain’t see him responding... She said she bore him in his hand.”

Carter said that not realising the severity of the matter, she asked the woman if she had money to take Bedlow to seek medical attention.

Carter and two of her children then went to Bedlow’s home in the adjoining scheme and upon entering the kitchen, saw the man sprawled on the floor.

The woman said she noticed what appeared to be a wound on the upper left side of Bedlow’s body.

According to Carter, there was also blood, but it looked as though someone had already attempted to clean the place up.

Although Bedlow and the woman had had disputes over the past 15 years, Carter said no one realised how deep they were.

She and other relatives said they never expected such a tragic end, since the alleged killer “was a cool person”.

Bedlow was described as a very humourous individual, who was self-employed as a refrigerator technician. He leaves to mourn three grown children.