A Jamaican woman is in police custody in St Maarten, accused of stabbing her Guyanese lover to death on Monday, the Star newspaper has reported.

Sandra Hall, who is employed by a security firm, Sherriff Security, is being accused of the brutal murder of 45-year-old Radford Seaford, who was also known as 'Skinny'. He was a Dutch citizen and had been living on the island for several years.

The St Maarten police said detectives were called to Christiansted Drive in Dutch Quarter at about 1:20 a.m. When they arrived, they found Skinny lying on the ground bleeding profusely from several stab wounds. Hall, who was in a relationship with the victim, was arrested on the spot.

Police reports said Hall claimed that she was in an abusive relationship with Skinny, who beat her frequently. She further stated that Skinny threatened her with a knife and she responded by taking up a knife and swinging it in his direction, wounding him several times.

However, neighbours of the man claimed that he was a peaceful man who was quite jovial. "Skinny was no trouble to anyone, he lived here for years and we never had problems with him," said his landlord, Angela Paul. 

"We did not even know he was killed until the police and the doctor arrived here. As for the woman, I don't know her. The first time I saw her was when the police brought her down to go with her."

Other neighbours who live nearby said they did not hear any sounds of arguing or fighting. "We don't know the woman, it's only about a week now she moved in with him. Skinny was a hard-working and very jovial person," another neighbour said.

Prosecutor Rienk Mud confirmed that there was a stabbing incident and the alleged killer had been arrested.