Nippes: young nurse Pharana Ruth-Love Edmël killed; her partner arrested in Miragoâne

Police arrested Fedner Lumène in Miragoâne on Sunday, November 1, accusing him of killing his partner, Pharana Ruth-Love Edmël, a young nursing graduate. According to Gazette Haïti, he acknowledged his role in the young woman's death and was handed over to the Nippes departmental judicial police (SDPJ). Le Nouvelliste spells his name Fedner Lemaine.

The killing took place on Saturday, October 31. According to Gazette Haïti, it happened at around 10 a.m. in the Bezén area, on the road to Petite-Rivière, in Miragoâne. By his own account, he killed her and then left her body at sea. Le Nouvelliste, for its part, reports that the body was found in the Bondeau area of Petite-Rivière de Nippes. The authorities have not yet made any public statement on the investigation.

What he says, according to the press

According to both newspapers, the suspect says he acted because he suspected his partner of being unfaithful. In a widely shared video, he claims she admitted to a relationship with another man in Léogâne, Gazette Haïti reports. He also says they had lived together for nine years and that she was pregnant by another man, a claim that rests only on his own statements. According to Bèlide Magazine, he also mentioned the money spent on her university studies.

Also according to Gazette Haïti, SDPJ investigators found threatening messages to the young woman on his phone, including one in which he wrote that he would kill her with his own hands. He said he regretted what he had done. He remains at the disposal of the courts.

A victim blamed online

The death of Pharana Ruth-Love Edmël has caused deep shock in the Nippes. Bèlide Magazine also notes that some social media users, mostly men, have blamed the victim: some argued she should have stayed faithful to the man who paid for her studies, while others criticized her choice of a motorcycle-taxi driver as a partner. The magazine points out that no jealousy, no supposed betrayal and no money spent can justify killing someone.