“Life too Hard,” HM Moses shouts before committing suicide -Police report

By Michael Jordan

Shouting that “life too hard,” retired headmaster Moses Elias ignored attempts by policemen to rescue him from his Beterverwagtng, East Coast house, which he had doused with gasoline and set alight on Friday, March 22.

That’s according to police, who have described the death of the 84-year-old as a “setting fire to building suicide.”

Fire officials had also indicated that the fire was deliberately set, but did not identify the arsonist.

Mr. Elias was the lone occupant of the two-storey wooden and concrete structure on Quamina Road.

Big Smith News Watch understands that a mobile police unit was on patrol on the Beterverwagting Railway Embankment at around 3.30 a.m. on Friday, March 22, when two young men informed them that “a thief man” was in Elias’ house.

When the policemen arrived, they observed that the bottom flat of the ex-headmaster’s house was on fire.

Two ranks forced their way into the bottom flat, where they saw Mr. Elias walking up the inner stairs with a five gallon container, which is suspected to have contained gasoline.

While some of the policemen doused the flames in the lower flat, a constable ran behind the retired headmaster, who allegedly went to the upper flat upper flat and set a mattress alight. Still carrying the five-gallon container, Mr. Elias reportedly locked himself in his bathroom.

He then allegedly shouted to the policeman who was attempting to rescue him that “life too hard.”

They then heard Mr. Elias screaming, but by then the flames had engulfed the building and the cops were forced to retreat.

The fire service was summoned and eventually brought the fire under control.  

By then the entire building was destroyed, and firefighters eventually retrieved Mr. Elias’ charred body.

His remains were taken to the Memorial Garden Funeral Home.