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Discovery of employee’s skeletal remains… Mining camp owner remanded on murder charge
Murder Accused: James Allen
Following the discovery of skeletal remains suspected to be those of a female cook, her 38-year-old employer was yesterday remanded to prison on a murder charge by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.
James Allen of Two Friends Village, East Coast Demerara, appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts where he was not required to plead to a charge for the capital offence.
It is alleged that between June 28, 2018 and July 8, 2018 at Thomas Island, Puruni River, he murdered 31-year-old Petol Hafez, of Lot 21 Side Line Dam, Vergenoegen, East Bank Essequibo.
Attorney-at-Law Trento Lake, who appeared on behalf of the murder accused, requested that the prosecution disclose statements in the matter.
After the brief court hearing, the Chief Magistrate remanded Allen to prison until August 16, when he will appear in the Bartica Magistrate’s Court.
Petol Hafez
According to reports, Hafez had traveled to Puruni around June 28 to work as a cook at a mining camp. But she went missing earlier this month, and on July 8, skeletal remains suspected to be those of the woman were discovered at an abandoned mining camp at Thomas Island at Puruni, Mazaruni.
Police had ordered the remains buried pending an exhumation.
The exhumation, which was conducted Saturday, showed a ‘crack’ in the skull, but Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh was unable to determine the cause of death.
A daughter of Hafez had told police that a “flowered top”, pants and brassiere, which were found near the remains, were clothing that belonged to her mother.
But police will have to wait on DNA results from samples taken from the remains to confirm the victim’s identity.
Her daughter said that Hafez had promised to return “before school opened.”
“She used to call everyday and when the calls stopped we knew that something was wrong,” the daughter said.
She said relatives sent phone messages to the employer to enquire about her mother’s whereabouts.
According to the daughter, the employer alleged that he had left his camp and when he returned, his workers said that Hafez had left to go “further up the backdam.”
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