72-year-old woman died in home invasion | News

A 72-year-old woman was found dead after a man broke into her Ross Corner flat just before 3am on Saturday morning, police said.

A devastated relative of Vernencha Butler said: Nassau Guard attacked by intruder.

Police said they were alerted to a “disturbance” at the flat. When they arrived, they encountered two men attacking another man who was not a resident of the home.

“When two male relatives arrived at the house, they reportedly found the suspect in the house and the female family members were unresponsive,” police said.

Butler’s nephew, Sherwin Johnson, said his uncle and cousin met the intruder above his aunt.

“They showed up there while it was happening, tried to beat him up, and the police stopped them,” Johnson said.

“The man was taken away by ambulance and when they went to the room to examine him, the woman was lifeless.”

Police said they knew the 25-year-old suspect. The injured person was taken to hospital and received treatment.

“The man is in the hospital. I was hoping he was dead, but he wasn’t dead yet,” Johnson said.

He said his aunt lived with her son, who was not home at the time of the theft.

According to his nephew, Butler was attacked just hours after celebrating his sister’s 75th birthday with his family.

A video of him having fun was circulated.

“He called and made sure everyone was home. After that, that was it,” Johnson said.

He said Butler, a seamstress and mother of three children, was very much loved.

Johnson said there have been three significant deaths in his family this year, including Butler’s two sisters and his father.

“He couldn’t attend the funeral of his first sister, who died in January, because he had a procedure done,” he said.

“He beat cancer. We were celebrating his ability to move quickly. He had no major problems, then his father died, then his other sister.”

Johnson said the attacker deserved the death penalty.

“That’s all I can express right now, an eye for an eye,” he said.

“You can’t make fun of children; You don’t joke with old people; “You don’t make fun of anyone, but you definitely don’t make fun of children or the elderly.”

He said despite media reports over the weekend, the incident was not a domestic dispute and the family did not know the man who attacked his aunt.