Police continue investigations as teens laid to rest today

Sep 13, 2020 News

Teenaged cousins, Joel, 19, and Isaiah Henry, 16 who were slain one week ago at Cotton Tree backdam, West Coast Berbice (WCB), Region Five, will be laid to rest today as police continue investigation into their gruesome murders.

Died: Isaiah Henry and Joel Henry

The Henry boys’ bodies were found butchered a short distance from a coconut estate last week Sunday.
The brutal manner in which the teens were killed gained national attention and quickly sparked intense protests in Georgetown, several West Coast Berbice (WCB) villages, and a few other areas along the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).
In some locations, criminals had used the opportunity to rob, beat innocent citizens, and evening setting fires to vehicles.
Several political leaders journeyed to the West Berbice areas and managed to quell the actions, with the free flow of traffic and normalcy happening by Thursday.
It was four days of onslaught.
The International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly Guyana (IDPADA) has organised a farewell service to celebrate the lives of the boys.
According to a funeral invitation sent out by the organisation, the service for the boys will commence at 09:00hrs at the Parade Ground, Middle Street, Georgetown.
Persons are being asked to wear masks and practice social distancing. The service will be streamed live on IDPADA Facebook’s page.
Meanwhile, the police force, in a press release sent out late last evening, also acknowledged that the relevant heads have been informed of the specially organised funeral arrangements.
It was also stated that the force wishes to reassure the families, relatives, friends, supporters that it will continue to forge partnership with them to facilitate the smooth interment of the late Joel and Isaiah Henry.
Meanwhile, with regards to the ongoing investigation, a total of seven persons were arrested in connection with the brutal killings.
Among them was a rice farmer, 57, who is said to be the owner of the coconut estate next to where the boys’ mutilated bodies were found. Police reportedly found traces of blood in the man’s coconut estate, along with a bag with coconuts and a coconut peeler.
It was while the police were investigating and the farmer was in custody that news came last week that Haresh Singh, 17, the grandson of the farmer, was also slain in the Cotton Tree backdam.
The media was told that four out of those seven suspects were released on station bail.
Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, has told this newspaper that the 72-hours limit for detaining the four suspects had expired.
During the protests, it was speculated by many that the murders might be politically motivated. However, the Crime Chief had told reporters that the evidence obtained so far does not point in that direction.
Reports had also surfaced that the relatives of the dead teens had told President Irfaan Ali that teens’ killing might have been gang-related and not political or race hate.
It was also reported that perhaps the teens’ killers might have been the same persons who murdered Haresh Singh (main suspect’s grandson) as well.
This conclusion was drawn because Singh and the boys were reportedly friends who hung out together.
Yesterday, however, attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes refuted these reports.
Hughes stated on his Facebook page that such reports are totally false. He said that it is an attempt to malign the teens’ character on the eve of their funeral for whatever reason.
He further described the media reports as obnoxious and grossly offensive to the Henry family in their moment of inconsolable loss.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News