Tony Sulker, who was living with the now-deceased attorney-at-law Richard Layne, is currently hospitalised after allegedly consuming poison (Gramoxone) in the wake of Layne’s death.
Sulker was interviewed by detectives yesterday (August 8th, 2024), and in a written statement, he stated that he met Layne about four years ago at a function at the Marriott Hotel in Georgetown. After they became friends, Layne asked him to move in with him, and he started living at the address about four years ago. Sulker said he and Layne never had any problems, and he denied that they had an intimate relationship. Sulker went on to say that on the night in question, he was at home with Layne when the deceased cousin, Michael Harding, visited the house and shortly after, Harding and the deceased left.
He (Sulker) said he went into his room at about 20:00 hours and later fell asleep. At about 22:00 hrs that night, he woke up to use the toilet and then went to the kitchen to drink water. While in the kitchen, he looked through the kitchen window and observed Layne’s car on the bridge and the deceased sitting in the driver’s seat in a slumped position.
Sulker claimed that he immediately ran downstairs and saw what appeared to be blood on his neck and skin. Sulker said he then called the deceased mother and related to her what he saw, and she asked him to pick her up at Bistro bar on Middle Street, which he did with her car.
On their return to the house, they tried opening the deceased car doors, but they were all locked. Layne’s mother then instructed him to break the driver-side glass, and he did so using a hammer. After opening the door, they observed what appeared to be a wound to the right side of the neck of the deceased, and he was motionless. As a result, they called the ambulance and the police. Sulker denied that he was in the company of the deceased on the night in question. He also denied going out with the deceased or having any involvement in the murder.
𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, further investigations were conducted, and detectives today (Friday) canvassed Sheriff Street for additional CCTV footage. On viewing the CCTV footage obtained from a nearby building on Sheriff Street in the vicinity of Kamboat Chinese Restaurant, it was observed that at about 21:31 hrs on the night of August 7th, 2024, Layne’s car — a burgundy Jaguar vehicle with number plate PYY 2850, was observed driving north on Sheriff Street and stopped in the vicinity of the Kamboat Restaurant.
It was then observed that a male, suspected to be Tony Sulker, dressed in black three-quarter pants and a green jersey, exited the Jaguar car’s back passenger seat and went into Kamboat Restaurant.
A short while after, it was observed that Sulker exited Kamboat with a white plastic bag containing what appeared to be Chinese food and entered the car’s front passenger seat.
The Jaguar car then proceeded to turn west onto John Street. There were no more cameras in that area to see where the car turned. However, at 21:39 hrs, it was observed that the car drove south along Mandela Avenue and then turned east into Hadfield Street, heading towards D’Urban Backlands.
No other cameras were in the area to verify the time the victim arrived at his residence.
At about 13:00 hrs today (August 9th 2024), the mother of the deceased, Penelope Lewis, age 66 years, contacted the police and reported that on the date and time mentioned, she was about to leave her deceased son’s residence at Lot 183 Century Palm D’Urban Backlands when she observed Sulker drove into the yard at a fast rate and parked his car in the garage.
She said she immediately sensed something was wrong and decided to turn back. When she got to the house, she observed Sulker lying at the door on the bottom flat of the said house with what appeared to be vomit and a green substance about his body. She immediately called the ambulance, and EMT from Central Fire Service responded. Sulker was escorted to the GPHC, where he is currently receiving treatment. His condition is critical.
Sulker’s car, an Allion bearing registration number PAC 7428, was seen parked in the yard. The vehicle was processed, and two white bottles with a green liquid substance suspected to be gramoxone were found on the floor of the vehicle.
A search was carried out on the said house, and the clothing Sulker was seen wearing on the CCTV footage obtained on the night in question was found in a washing machine on the bottom flat of the house, already washed and dried.
Other dirty clothing was seen in his clothes basket. The items were all placed in separate evidence bags, sealed, and taken to the crime laboratory for forensic examination. DNA samples were also taken from Tony Sulker.
