Investigators probing the deaths of cousins, Isaiah and Joel Henry, whose mutilated bodies were found on Sunday last, are looking into reports that the teenagers’ murders could be gang-related.
This is after family members of the Henry cousins told President Irfaan Ali that they believed that the teens’ murders were in fact gang-related and not political or race hate as being peddled.
President Ali was at the time visiting the relatives of the teens at Number Three Village, West Coast Berbice on Friday.
According to the relatives, Joel and Isaiah were friends with 17-year-old Haresh Singh, who was also gruesomely murdered on Wednesday.
Initially, it was suspected that Singh’s murder was in retaliation for the deaths of Isaiah and Joel since one of his close relatives was among those arrested after the cousins’ murder.
However, the family members are now claiming that three teenagers’ horrific deaths might have been gang-related. They said the now dead three teenagers along with a fourth friend used to hangout a lot.
It is believed that the four boys might have been seen some illegal activities in the backdam and became targets. As such, the family of the fourth boy is concerned about his safety.
The families have called on the police to conduct a thorough investigation which would reveal the real perpetrators of the heinous crime. The relatives stated that they all want to see justice being served and called on others to allow the police to conduct their investigations.
The president has assured the parents and relatives of the dead teen and to an extend the residents that he will do everything in his powers to make sure justice is served.
Meanwhile, a Police source told INews that they were told of the relatives’ suspicions and are working on that theory while processing other information and clues at their disposal.
The source said that the crime scene has been revisited several times as they gather information to crack the case.
Already, the Guyana Government has reached out to the international community to assist with the investigations. President Ali announced on Wednesday that they will be enlisting the British Government and the Regional Security System to come support the Guyana Police Force’s investigative capacity regarding these murders.
Nevertheless, five persons remain in police custody and are assisting with investigations into the Henry cousins death.
Only on Thursday, four of the seven persons who were initially arrested were released on station bail since their 72-hour detention period had expired. A few others were also arrested between Wednesday evening the Thursday evening.
With respect to Singh’s murder, no arrests have been made.
