Latest update February 21st, 2025 6:25 AM
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Recently-acquired fingerprinting technology leads cops to murder suspect
Thanks to recently-acquired fingerprinting technology, police have finally identified a suspect in the murder of 74-year-old Khirul Najidam, who was bound, gagged and strangled in her Gaulding Place, South Ruimveldt home three years ago.
Wanted: Roger Brandt
Police sources said that a fingerprint that detectives lifted from Najidam’s home in 2011 matches that of a Greater Georgetown man with previous arrests, and whose prints police have on file. Kaieteur News was told that police used the recently-acquired Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to match the two prints.
AFIS is a computer system that helps investigators to match fingerprints of suspects to existing fingerprints that are stored in a database. FBI technicians have been training local ranks in its use.
In a release issued yesterday, police stated that they are trying to locate Roger Brandt, who is wanted for questioning in relation to the murder of Najidan Sadick which occurred on March 4, 2011 at Gaulding Place, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown.
Brandt is of African ancestry, brown in complexion, and his last known address is Lot 169 Stevedore Housing Scheme, Georgetown.
Anyone with information that may lead to Roger Brandt’s arrest is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 225-6411, 226-7065, 225-8196, 227-1149, 911 or the nearest police station. All information will be treated with strict confidence.
The body of Khirul Najidam, called Najidan Sadick, Babloo Sadick, and ‘Aunty,’ was found in a store room located in the lower flat of her Lot 1215 Gaulding Place home on March 4, 2011. She was bound and gagged and her home was ransacked.
Sadick, who lived alone, had operated a small confectionery stand in her yard. Most of her customers were schoolchildren, and it was some of these children who found the body.
One neighbour recalled seeing three young boys running from the house some time before 15:00hrs that day.
The AFIS technology used to identify the suspect in Najidam’s killing compares fingerprints to those on file and a computer produces a list of possible matches within minutes. Fingerprints taken from an arrested individual can be used to swiftly verify his identify and ascertain whether he may be wanted for any criminal offence.
AFIS computers and scanners have been installed at the New Amsterdam, Brickdam and Cove and John Police Stations. All data is sent to Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, where some of the FBI-trained personnel check the prints for possible matches to suspects.
Prior to acquiring the automated fingerprint identification system, local investigators were forced to examine hundreds of prints with a magnifying glass to find a possible match to a suspect. This process could take days or even months, without always yielding the desired results.
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