Bangladeshi woman beaten to death with a hammer in the US, one arrested
A Bangladeshi woman named Nilufar Yasmin has been beaten to death with a hammer in Fort Myers, Florida, in the United States. The suspect, Rolbert Joachin, was arrested by Fort Myers Police shortly after the incident. He is currently being held in Lee County Jail.
Nilufar Yasmin worked as a cashier at the Bangladeshi-owned D&D Convenience Store located on Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard.
Mohammad Shipu, manager and co-founder of D&D Convenience Store, told Prothom Alo that Nilufar Yasmin, 48, had joined the shop as a cashier three months ago. Her home is in Kushakhali union under Chandraganj upazila of Lakshmipur district in Bangladesh. She had two daughters aged 16 and 20.
Arif Ahmed Ashraf, owner of the shop premises and general secretary of the Bangladesh Association of Florida, said CCTV footage shows that around 10:00 am on Tuesday (31 March), the accused, Rolbert Joachin, 40, tried to withdraw money from an ATM but failed and then demanded money from the cashier.
Speaking in English, he said, “Your machine took my money, give me my money.” Nilufar replied, “You may have entered the wrong PIN; the ATM is not mine, I cannot give you money.” Hearing this, the man left without saying anything further.
Arif Ahmed said that later, at around 6:30 am on Thursday (2 April), after offering Fajr prayers, Nilufar heard the sound of a car being damaged. She came out of the shop and approached, asking, “What are you doing?” At that point, Rolbert shouted, “Give me my money,” and struck her on the head with a hammer.
A video of the incident has circulated on social media. It shows that at 7:14 am on Thursday, in front of D&D Convenience Store, Rolbert first smashed the windshield of Nilufar Yasmin’s car. When she came out of the shop, he struck her on the head with a hammer.
Members of the Fort Myers Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) quickly arrived at the scene and took Nilufar Yasmin to hospital. Physicians there pronounced her dead at 7:27 am.
Fort Myers Police confirmed on their website and social media that Rolbert Joachin has been arrested and kept in custody. Police have urged anyone with further information about the suspect to come forward.
It has been learnt that the accused, Rolbert Joachin, is a homeless person who has long been suffering from mental health issues. He has been charged with murder and criminal damage to property.