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By Leon SuseranThe four persons who drowned in the Berbice River a few days ago were buried yesterday at the Stanleytown Cemetery in New Amsterdam. The decomposed remains of Rudolph ‘Monkey Man’ Sheriff,Patrick Patterson Raptors Jersey, 49, of Smythfield,Tracy Mcgrady Magic Jersey, New Amsterdam; Shaquille Anthony Plass, 14, of Angoy’s Avenue; Shondell Anthony Plass, 49, of Angoy’s Avenue; and Bate Bender,Wes Unseld Wizards Jersey, 43, of Morgenstond, Berbice River,Kyrie Irving Team USA Jersey, were all interred at the cemetery during a mass funeral,Mario Hezonja Magic Jersey, which attracted hundreds.Post mortem on all of the men, revealed that they died by drowning.The coffins of Shondell and Shaquille Plass yesterday.Wailing, weeping,Tracy McGrady Team USA Jersey, screams and cries resounded throughout the cemetery yesterday as the bodies were brought in one by one. All of the funeral services were according to Christian rites and the pastor prayed and read Biblical passages.The coffins were not lowered into the ground until the elderly men and boys around broke open the seals and poured several bottles of liquor on the corpses.Then the wailing increased in intensity as the bodies were lowered and holes were filled by the undertakers.Sandra Bender, the wife of Shaquille Plass, could not have been consoled as she sat by the roadside and wailed uncontrollably. “I coming with you [Shaquille]! I coming with you!” she wailed. At one point, she fainted and had to be revived by relatives.After Plass’ coffin was lowered, it was time for his son’s,Terrence Ross Raptors Jersey, whose burial spot was next to his. And there came more screaming and shouting and wailing.Two of the men’s decomposed bodies were discovered floating in the Berbice River, along the East Bank of Berbice on Tuesday by police. The other two bodies, that of Bender and Shondell Plass, were brought out to New Amsterdam late Thursday afternoon. They were found some three miles from Mara at a village called ‘Rupununi’.Shellon Plass, the daughter of one of the deceased, stated that all the family heard was that “they [the police] give us the message that a boat ‘duck’ in the Berbice River.She added that her father, along with the three other men, left on Thursday to “bring down greens [vegetables] for mommy”.Plass’ sister, Portia was unclear as to what could have happened to her brother’s boat. “We ain’t know if they run into anything or if the waves or anything…All we know is that the boards from the bow are all gone—so it look as if they lash into something”.Plass, a carpenter by profession, leaves to mourn his wife, Sandra Bender,Scottie Pippen Team USA Jersey, and 10 children: Felicia, 6; Marcus, 8; Destiny,Draymond Green Team USA Jersey, 3; Sherlanna, 8; Shellon, 16; Lydia, 17; Tiffany, 15; Bryan, 21; Norman, 23; and Denzil, 19.The sister of Rudolph Sheriff, Sonia Bahadur, stated that the family received the horrific news yesterday about the discovery of the bodies. “The police just asked us to identify the body”, she stated. Sheriff usually made trips up the Berbice River “to bring greens back down to sell”, she stated.“He would usually spend two to three weeks”, she stated. He leaves to mourn his daughters, Shabeena, 29; Sabrina 26; and Nikita 23.Kaieteur News understands that Sheriff was in control of the boat which mysteriously capsized. Investigations into the tragedy are continuing. |
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