Parfaite Man Sentenced to 19Yrs for Burning Wife to Death

August 25 2025

A 27-year-old man who set his wife on fire during a domestic dispute at their Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD) home in 2022 has been sentenced to 19 years in prison after admitting to manslaughter.

Ajay Persaud, also known as “Nicholas,” appeared before Justice Simone Morris at the High Court in Demerara, where he pleaded guilty to unlawfully killing 20-year-old Annalee Gonsalves.

He will be eligible for parole only after serving 17 years, with time spent on remand deducted from the sentence.

He was initially charged with murder.

The couple’s confrontation on August 23, 2022, turned deadly when Persaud doused Gonsalves with denatured alcohol and set her ablaze.

Gonsalves sustained burns to about 40 percent of her body, including her face, limbs, and back.

While in critical condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, Gonsalves recorded a video statement identifying Persaud as her attacker.

She fought for her life for more than a month but died on October 2, 2022, from sepsis caused by the extensive burns.

Persaud fled the scene after the incident but was later captured in East Berbice-Corentyne.

He was first charged with attempted murder, but the charge was upgraded to murder after Gonsalves’ death.

Last month, Persaud accepted responsibility by entering a guilty plea to the lesser count of manslaughter.

His case was prosecuted by state attorney Alvaro Ramotar, while he was represented by attorney-at-law Dexter Todd.