President Irfaan Ali has revealed that evidence gathered from the investigations into the murders of West Coast Berbice teenagers Isaiah and Joel Henry, and Haresh Singh, has been sent to St. Lucia for analysis.
He made the disclosure during a recent interview with media personnel at his office at State House.
“We have a team that has left for St. Lucia with some of the evidence to do more detailed analysis, so that is going on at the same time. For confidentiality reasons, the regional body has asked to have certain things respected from their perspective and we are sticking to that. There are components of the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] that can’t be made public,” President Ali said.
While noting that there is a cost attached to the support Guyana is receiving from the regional body, President Ali explained that “is a small issue in relation to what we hope to achieve and that is bringing these people to justice.”
A five-member team of investigators from the Regional Security System arrived in Guyana two days ago to assist the Guyana Police Force (GPF) with their investigations into the brutal murders of the three teenagers.
The collaboration follows a request from President Ali for regional assistance in bringing the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to justice.
On September 6, the bodies of Isaiah and Joel Henry were found in the backlands of Cotton Tree, WCB – almost one day after they were reported missing. They had left their Number Three Village, WCB home to pick coconuts in the backlands, but did not return home. Their butchered bodies were found in clumps of bushes partially covered in mud, after relatives went in search of them.
The news of their deaths sparked protests across several villages along the West Coast Berbice corridor, where commuters were beaten and robbed. With blocked roads, some vehicles were also torched.
And then, on September 9, 17-year-old Singh was found murdered at the Number Three Village backlands. It is suspected that his death was in retaliation for the murders of Isaiah and Joel, since he is related to one of the persons initially held by the police.
Meanwhile, several persons who were arrested for the murder of the Henry teens were released on station bail while to date, no arrest has been made in relation to Singh’s murder.
Police had explained that the location where the bodies of the Henry boys were found was not the primary crime scene, that is, it was not the location where the young men were killed. [Extracted and Modified from DPI]
