By Kristen Macklingam
An employee of the elderly couple who were burnt to death in their Good Hope, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) home on Sunday night, along with a resident of the same village, is among the four suspects being detained by the police in relation to what many have described as the most “brutal and barbaric” act committed in recent times.
INews understands that the two other persons in police custody hail from villages close to the home of the dead couple, Mohamed and Jamila Munir. These two suspects are characters known to the police since they have been fingered and implicated in a number of ‘break and enter’ reports on previous occasions.
All four suspects are said to be relatively young, none of them reaching their 30th birthday, and from information gathered thus far by investigators, there is enough evidence for them to be further detained.
The 72-hour detention and questioning period (three days) for the four individuals expires sometime today (Thursday) and investigators are said to be presently applying for an extension to keep the suspects in custody.
According to a source, while the four persons are co-operating, they are “not admitting to certain facts” but of the group, one particular suspect, is said to be “co-operating quite well.”
Investigators are still grilling these suspects with the hope of getting a solid breakthrough in the case to determine those involved in committing the brutal act and the motive for doing so. However, from all accounts so far, it appears to have been a “planned robbery” gone haywire, said one police source.
On Sunday night, residents of the quiet, close knitted community of Good Hope, EBE, were left in a state of disbelief and distress after they witnessed the Munir’s home go up in flames with the elderly couple trapped inside.
Persons rushed out to save the husband and wife who were screaming for help as the heat and the blaze intensified, but despite their efforts, the neighbours and others who ran to offer their assistance did not succeed.
The trapped couple could not have been saved since their house which was engulfed in flames had been heavily grilled. It is believed that the duo locked themselves in a room in their bid to hide from the gunmen.
