North American woman intending to visit the Solomons cancelled her trip after killing in Bougainville village

A 51 year old expatriate woman, from North America, backpacking in Sirovai Village on the east coast of Bougainville has fled the island after being caught up in a dispute that ended in the bashing death of a deranged man falsely claiming to be her husband on Tuesday as she was ready to take a boat to the Solomon Islands when the incident happened.

She had met village resident Robert Isaiah while travelling down from Buka. Mr Isaiah, in his fifties and married to a Sirovai woman, followed the woman and entered into a heated argument with the villagers, insisting that the visitor should not leave.

He shouted out that the woman was his second wife and he used a fishing spear to stab and wound the boat’s skipper, who was his nephew. In retaliation, villagers bashed Isaiah and he died on the spot.

After flying in Port Moresby yesterday, the expatriate woman said she was shocked by the killing. She received bruises on her back after being hit when “everything was out of control” and said her attempt to move Isaiah to safety failed.

She was escorted from the village by police who interviewed her and then escorted her to Buka.

The expatriate woman said she had taken time off from work to travel the world but now would not go to the Solomon Islands, opting instead to return to her country.

Source: The National