Dirk Simon
May 28, 2007
Profitt, West Coast Berbice, Guyana

Stabroek News
(Stabroek, Guyana)
May 29, 2007

Taxi man battered to death

-hijacked car plunges into trench

By Shabna Ullah
Monday, May 28th 2007

The body of a 29-year-old taxi driver was found dumped in a 
swamp close to the roadside at Profitt, West Coast Berbice early 
yesterday morning while his hijacked taxi was found abandoned 
in a trench at Blairmont.

Dirk Simon, an ex-policeman, was discovered face down in the 
swamp with wounds to the back of his head, face and right 
armpit. A piece of blood-stained wood was reportedly recovered 
at the scene.

He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a blue shirt which was 
pulled halfway up his back and a pair of white sneakers. Simon, 
the owner/driver of the burgundy AT 170 Carina, HB 3032, was 
attached to the Kitty Cab Taxi Service on Sheriff Street.

Residents of the sparsely populated area happened upon the 
body after 7 am yesterday and telephoned the Fort Wellington 
Police Station.

The driver of another car told police he saw when the car, 
travelling at a fast rate, apparently missed the turn at Blairmont 
and ended up in the trench. He said the two occupants of the car 
scrambled out and headed in the direction of Ithaca.

The man said that a few minutes before that another car, a silver 
Carina wagon slammed into a bridge close to the scene. Police 
are trying to ascertain whether the two accidents were 
connected.

They are also working on the theory that robbery may not have 
been the motive for the murder since a small amount of cash 
was recovered in the car. This newspaper noticed that the name 
and telephone numbers of the taxi service were covered with 
white spray paint.

A can of white spray paint was found in the car. There was also a 
piece of white rope and what appeared to be marks from a 
sneaker in the trunk, suggesting that Simon may have been 
placed there before being dumped. No blood was in the car.

Stabroek News learnt that the man was called to do a "pick up at 
Sheriff Street and a drop off on South Road" at around 10 pm on 
Saturday and that was the last his colleagues heard from him.

His wife, Elizabeth Simon, 30, said her husband left home at 
around 8:30 am on Saturday and told her he would work through 
the night so she was not worried when he did not return.

She said he joined the taxi service one month ago and this was 
his first night outing. The woman said her husband always tried 
to spend Sunday with her and the children.

She said she was expecting him home around 7 am yesterday 
and about 8 am after she finished preparing breakfast she dialled 
his cell phone. After she did not get through she phoned the taxi 
service and learnt that his car was found in a trench in Berbice 
and that they did not know where he was.

She said she burst into tears and her seven-year-old daughter, 
Danielia also started to cry and kept asking for her father. After 
confirming her worst fears, Elizabeth who spoke to this 
newspaper in Berbice said the hardest thing for her to deal with 
is to break the news of his death to Danielia. The couple also has 
a nine-month-old baby, Emmelia.

According to Elizabeth, her husband had always told her that if 
bandits should try to take his car away from him they would have 
to "kill him" since he would fight back.

In the last five years or so, dozens of taxis have been hijacked 
and in several cases drivers have been killed in confrontations. 
Others have lived through harrowing experiences most often in 
the trunk of the vehicles.

++++++++++++++++++++++

Stabroek News
(Stabroek, Guyana)
May 31, 2007

Kitty Cabs driver died from fractured skull, haemorrhage

Thursday, May 31st 2007
Dirk Simon

The 29-year-old taxi driver whose body was found dumped in a 
swamp close to the roadside at Profitt, West Coast Berbice early 
Sunday morning died from a fractured skull and haemorrhage.

Police investigators in Berbice have also confirmed that the 
persons who called the Kitty Cabs base requesting a taxi had 
specifically asked for Dirk Simon. Investigators said that the 
person who called for the taxi told the dispatcher that he was a 
relative of a regular customer of the taxi service. Police have 
been trying to trace where the call was made. Relatives of the 
dead man have been calling for persons who knew the man's 
killers to come forward.

Police said that there have been no new developments in the 
case, but ranks were checking every possible lead.

Simon, an ex-policeman, was discovered face down in the 
swamp with wounds to the back of his head, face and right 
armpit. A blood-stained wood was reportedly recovered at the 
scene. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a blue shirt, which 
was pulled halfway up his back and a pair of white sneakers. 
Simon, the owner/driver of the burgundy AT 170 Carina, HB 
3032, was attached to the Kitty Cabs Taxi Service on Sheriff 
Street. Residents of Profitt stumbled on Simon's body around 7 
am on Sunday.

The driver of another car told police he saw when the car which 
was travelling at a fast rate apparently missed the turn at 
Blairmont and ended up in the trench. He said the two occupants 
of the car scrambled out and headed in the direction of Ithaca. 
The man said that a few minutes before that another car, a silver 
Carina wagon, had slammed into a bridge close to the scene.

Stabroek News was told that Simon was called to do a "pick up 
at Sheriff Street and a drop off on South Road" around 10 pm on 
Saturday and that was the last his colleagues heard from him. 
His wife said he left home around 8.30 am on Saturday and told 
her he would work through the night so she was not worried when 
he did not return. She said he joined the taxi service one month 
ago and this was his first night shift. She said she was expecting 
him home around 7 am Sunday and about 8 am after she 
finished preparing breakfast she dialled his cell phone. After she 
did not get through she phoned the taxi service and learnt that 
his car was found in a trench in Berbice and that they did not 
know where he was.

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