First Published on 1st of May, 2021 by Patrick Carpen.
The murder of Shonette Dover will go down as one of the most brutal, heinous, and cold-blooded murders ever committed on a Guyanese citizen by someone she once loved and trusted. Whether the younger sister of the victim was criminally involved in the killing is disputable, but the pieces of evidence presented against the former boyfriend point to a well-planned, cold blooded, and premeditated murder.
According to the family of the victim, the relationship between Shonette Dover and Shaquawn Alleyne was apparently on the rocks. The couple had lived together for about 3 years, but Shonette had indicated to her cousin and grandmother days before her death that she was planning to end the relationship and return home.
Sometimes, a breakup with a female partner, especially one who might be seeing someone else, draws a negative reaction from a man, and this in itself may be interpreted as a motive for murder. Shaquawn had said during the search operation which lasted about 28 days, that Shonette had been seeing someone else. However, whether there is any truth to this or not is unclear, and perhaps will never be known.
On the afternoon of Thursday, 29th of April, 2021, the police received a confession from the teenage sister of Shonette Dover. The younger sister at that time was being interrogated by the police in the presence of a Childcare and Protection Officer.
According to the police, the young girl said that she was at the home of Shaquawn Alleyne along with her sister when Shaquawn apparently accidentally shot Shonette Dover. She subsequently led detectives to the location where the body was buried in the backyard of Shaquawn Alleyne’s home in Wismar, Linden, Region 10.
According to the police, the teen said that Shaquawn was oiling his gun. Shortly afterwards, he pointed it at Shonette who remarked, “you like play, put that thing away.” Thereafter, a gunshot went off. Shaquawn said, “Oh shoots, I kill she.”
The teen said she saw her sister’s mouth open and blood on her face. She demanded that they take her to the hospital, but the boyfriend insisted that she was already dead and that they would be in trouble. He then went to this father who remarked, “don’t tell me stupidness, why yall playing with gun?”
The father then assisted or overlooked the disposing of the body in a shallow grave in the backyard. After burying the victim, the trio hatched an escape plan by orchestrating a missing person alert for Shonette Dover. While the teen might have been tagging along in the whole plot, the murderer, Shaquawn Alleyne, seemed to have had it all worked out. He posted several missing persons alert on Facebook appealing to the public to help him find his lost girlfriend. He went on video via a local news channel appealing to all Guyanese to help him search, knowing very well that he had buried her in his backyard. His pretense was astronomical.
In the early morning hours of Friday, April 30, the teen led detectives to the spot where the partly decomposed body of 20 years old Shonette Dover was unearthed four feet underground in a sitting position. The decayed corpse was taken to the Linden Hospital where it was pronounced dead. Family members were called in to help identify the victim. The family said they are confident that that is the body of the missing girl. DNA samples were sent for testing and are presently awaiting confirmation. Police shortly afterward issued a wanted bulletin for Shaquawn Alleyne who was nowhere to be found.
To put things into perspective, everyone is wondering why the young girl stayed silent for nearly 30 days after witnessing her sister’s murder firsthand. Some psychologists might explain that different people respond differently to traumatic events, and in this case, we need to analyze the personality of the second hand victim of the crime.
The teen said that the young man threatened her and warned her of the dangers of confession. Many people are speculating that the sister was part and parcel of the crime. The truth is, we can never be sure unless the young girl confesses, something that can be accomplished not through harsh interrogation techniques but through psychological counseling.
Aside from that, to the trained eye, the whole story has more holes than Swiss cheese.
If indeed the gun went off by accident and the younger sister was there to witness it, why the need to bury the body in a shallow grave? Why not rush her to a hospital and try to save her? Why so effortlessly conclude that she is dead? If, on the other hand, the murder was planned as many people are speculating, then there would have been a need to get rid of the body.
Further, you do not oil a gun when loaded unless you are really stupid. A gun is oiled after it is dissembled for cleaning. We find it hard to believe that someone would do this to their own sister. However, let’s not be too quick to jump to conclusions. Let’s await the unraveling of new evidence as the police continues to investigate.
Update: As of 17th of June, 2022, the murderer, Shaquawn Alleyne, is still on the run and has not been brought to justice by law enforcement.
