Antigua: Woman killed minutes after she informed police of an intruder

St John's: A 21-year-old woman is now in police custody assisting with investigations into the Antigua and Barbuda's 10th murder since the start of the year. It is alleged the suspect broke into a home in Piccadilly shortly after 9:30 Monday night and stabbed the female homeowner to death.

The deceased is believed to have been in her 60s, but police are withholding her identity pending the notification of her relatives.

The homeowner had only minutes earlier called the Dockyard Police Station to report that an intruder had broken into her home. Eyewitnesses told media that the police quickly arrived on the scene, but the attack had already happened by the time they reached and the suspect was still in the house. It is believed a knife and another sharp object were used to inflict the fatal wounds. The reason for murder is yet to be investigated and the suspect a 21-year-old woman is in police custody.

The recent murder was the tenth homicide incident to take place in Antigua and Barbuda since the beginning of 2021. Even though crime reduced in the country in the past five years, it has not completely disappeared.

The government and authorities are putting all efforts to make communities safer and reduce the crime rate. The data by the Overseas Security Advisory Council also show that the crime rate in Antigua and Barbuda was the lowest in the West Indies.