Kerrian Stanford, a 20-year-old, pregnant housewife was killed and buried in a shallow grave at Chelsea Park, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara.
Police said they are investigating an alleged murder that is believed to have taken place on Friday, July 3, 2026, around 8:00 PM at Chelsea Park, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara. The victim, Kerriana Stanford, of Ann’s Grove, East Coast Demerara, was found dead on Friday, July 10, 2026. Her body was discovered buried in a shallow grave behind a residence in Chelsea Park.
Preliminary investigations indicate that Stanford visited the residence of a 24-year-old man from Chelsea Park prior to her disappearance.
Following information, officers visited the location where the body was found, buried in a shallow grave at the back of the property.
Further inquiries led to the arrest of a suspect at Enmore, East Coast Demerara. He was transported to the Mahaicony Police Station and taken into custody.
The victim’s body was transported to the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
The suspect remains in custody as police investigations continue.
Daniel Stanford the brother of Kerryann Stanford told the Guyana Standard the police disclosed to the family that his sister’s body was discovered buried in a shallow grave at Chelsea Park. The family was invited to the hospital to identify the body.
Daniel explained that his sister was known to be a private individual who would often leave home and return without raising concern. Her family was caught completely off guard by the grim discovery. “She was pregnant. Nobody knew their relationship problem,” Daniel revealed, emphasizing that Kerriann was the mother of a two-year-old daughter and was pregnant with her second child at the time of her death.
Kerriann had been caring for her grandfather before leaving home on July 3 and promised to return. Daniel said they were unprepared for such tragic news.
The suspect has been identified as Travis James, the father of Kerriann’s child. According to Daniel, police revealed that James confessed to the crime. The family was informed that James admitted to killing Kerriann and subsequently burying her in a shallow grave, seemingly in an attempt to conceal what had happened.
The owner of the property, Dianna Peters, uncovered the disturbing scene. Peter’s, in an interview with the Guyana Standard explained that she had been away for nine days. Peters said she returned to her property and noticed a foul stench emanating from the backyard. Upon investigation, she observed the area where the grave had been dug. She recounted that she questioned her tenant, Travis James, about the area. James admitted to placing sand and stones there to cover the smell emanating from the mud but did not take further steps to remove the debris.
“I went to the back there to get some water and observed the thing and I called Travis and asked him if he put thing at the back there and he said yes some mud smelling at the back there and he throw the stuff there,” Peters explained.
Peters, concerned by the strange setup, said she informed her neighbors and reported the incident to the police. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) responded to the report. When Peters returned home, she took it upon herself to dig into the area and made the grim discovery of what appeared to be a human foot pushing up from the ground. “When I come home, I dig the thing and see the two feet push up,” she said.
The landlady told the Guyana Standard that James had been renting the apartment since last year. Peters stated that she did not know Kerriann personally, and that James had been going about his daily life as usual after committing the gruesome act. However, she noted that she had observed him visiting the area frequently and checking on it often.
