Woman strangled to death in her Ottley Hall home

Orlando Sergeant, the only child of murdered nursing aide Glenda Sergeant, says he is at a loss as to what to do next, now that his mother is gone.{{more}}

The 26-year-old is joined by friends, as well as coworkers of the deceased woman, who are still in disbelief, that the 48-year-old was strangled in her Ottley Hall home, between Friday 21, and Monday, September 24, according to police reports.

Her lifeless body was discovered on Monday morning by Orlando, who lives in the same yard as she.

When SEARCHLIGHT visited the area on Wednesday, Orlando recounted that he last saw his mother on Friday evening, since he left early the next day with his girlfriend and young son, to spend out the weekend.

“We left the morning to go by a friend, because he fly in the Friday and we end up spend the weekend because is good while we didn’t see him, and we come home Monday morning around seven or eight and we went home as usual.

“I send my girlfriend for piece of ice, and when she went for the ice, she just open the door and she discover ornament was on the ground and smell a funny smell, and she just shout out to me and tell me come quick,” Orlando recalled.

“When I come, from the time I enter the door I smell the funny smell, so I went to her bedroom calling she by she name, when I reach the bedroom and see she next to she bed pon the ground on she back, with just she panty and tube top with a pillow by she head.”

Orlando said that on seeing this, he rushed out of the house and called for a neighbour to summon the police. He said that officers from the motorable unit were the first on the scene, and they were followed by members of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

Collice Williams, the neighbor who was summoned by Sergeant, told SEARCHLIGHT that she had been with the dead woman earlier on Friday. She said that Glenda had finished her three o’clock shift at the Thompson Home when she met her, and they made some purchases in Kingstown before coming home sometime after four.

“She always pass in by me, but she didn’t; she went straight up, but she say she going shower and go in town and lime by her friend who sells by the bus terminal and that is the last time I see her.”

Claiming to be best friend to Glenda, Collice said that she found it strange that she did not see Glenda the next day, but thought nothing of it as she assumed her friend had already left for work, and when she did not see her on Sunday, believed that Glenda had stayed in at work.

“Because plenty rain falling, I think she stay at work instead of coming home,” she said.

“I was home here waiting on her, because we had bought pancake mix to do pancake for our breakfast Monday morning. So when I was waiting on her, I was upset, and her son pass up around minutes to nine and they call me from the back. And when they went up now I heard him scream out ‘Collice, call the police!’ and when I went inside I smell a foul odour; when I went in the bedroom I meet her open up, she just had on her underwear and her top and the pillow was over her face,” Williams said.

“The vase was broke up inside the house, the centre table turnover and the living room window open, but they meet the front door lock,” she added.

SEARCHLIGHT also spoke to one of Sergeant’s supervisors at Thompson Home, who said that the woman who had put in more than six years at the institution would be greatly missed.

Speaking via telephone, Sister Allen said that Sergeant left on Friday at 3 p.m., and was scheduled to return to work the next day at 11am.

When she did not report that day, neither for her 7a.m. shift on Sunday, and following repeated unanswered phone calls, she became worried.

Allen said on Monday, when she sent someone to check in on Sergeant, she received the call that her colleague was dead.

“She was a good team player; a great caretaker,” Allen said.

Orlando, reminiscing about his mother, said that she was a lady who was full of life, and had planned to build her home.

He said that he would want the person or persons responsible for the death of his mother to be caught.

“I would like to know who do this. I hope the police do their job and find this person and bring them to justice.”

Collice, like Orlando, said that she is deeply affected by the loss of her friend, whom she said she was very close to for more than 20 years.

She said that the jolly woman would be dearly missed by those who knew her well in and out of the community.

“It affect me a lot. I can’t sleep. I can’t eat I can’t sleep, every time I close my eyes I’m seeing her face, I’m expecting to hear ‘Collice I hungry, I want breakfast.’

“To me like it isn’t real, I’m just expecting to see her walking

coming up the road and as soon as she reach across here I’m gonna hear her shouting out my name still.”

Funeral arrangements are yet to be made for Sergeant, and police are investigating.