Cops to locate prime suspect as Courtney Crum-Ewing’s murder case reopens

Mar 26, 2017 Court Stories, Features / Columnists

Since the announcement of the reopening of Courtney Crum-Ewing case, the cops have not been able to locate the prime suspect in the March 10, 2015 murder of the political activist. Crum-Ewing’s bloodied body was found on the roadway at Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
The cops have searched more than three locations, including Regan “Grey Boy” Rodriques’s home but have not been able to locate him.
It is suspected that Rodriques, who was freed of the activist’s murder six months ago, has gone into hiding after it was revealed that the case had been reopened. Ranks were out looking for the murder suspect up to yesterday morning.
“He (Rodrigues) was not supposed to go anywhere and now that the case has been reopened, he was supposed to be arrested immediately, even before it was released by the media but this was not the case. He heard it was reopened, and he is nowhere to be found,” a source said.
Kaieteur News was informed that the suspect’s relatives have claimed that they had not seen the 37-year-old man for some time. Investigators believed that Rodrigues might have fled to the interior location to avoid capture.
Crum-Ewing’s body was found hours after he had been urging residents, with a bull-horn, to vote against the then ruling People Progressive Party (PPP/C).
One month later, Rodrigues was charged with the activist’s death after he was found with the gun that was later confirmed to be the weapon used to execute the political activist.
After the charges were read to him, he told the court, “I know that in this country once money passes to the police they do respond to you… I am an APNU stronghold.”
He further added, “I know (police officer) kill Crum-Ewing, because when they ask me to kill Crum-Ewing and Mark Benschop. I told them no, because I’m not no killer. I even went to the police to make a report on the matter and they never took my statement.”
Rodrigues was subsequently freed on September 14, 2016.
Two Fridays ago, the Director of Public Prosecution, Shalimar Ali-Hack, issued a statement, remitting the case of the Guyana Police Force and Rodrigues to Magistrate Judy Latchman for reopening.
According to the statement, the sole purpose of the case being reopened is to take further evidence from the police witnesses and to rule on the voluntariness of all oral statements of the accused.
Last year, the case was discharged by Magistrate Judy Latchman when the Preliminary Inquiry was first conducted.
It will now be prosecuted by Special Prosecutor Attorney-at-Law, Nigel Hughes.
The 40-year-old Crum-Ewing of Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara, was shot five times. Police in a statement had said that Crum-Ewing was walking along the roadway at Third Avenue, when a car with four men from which shots were discharged, drove up. The men escaped.
The killer used a .32 pistol and fired at such close range that gunpowder burns were left on Crum-Ewing’s clothes and body.

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