$3M reward offered by police is an “admission of failure” in solving murder of Henry boys – Attorney

Nov 04, 2020 News

---

…Recommends Argentine team to probe murder

Kaieteur News – The move by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to offer a $3 million dollar reward for any information that may be pertinent in solving the gruesome murders of West Coast Berbice teens Isaiah and Joel Henry is merely an admission of its own incompetence at solving the case says Nigel Hughes who is representing the interest of the Henry family.
The Force in a release early yesterday said that while the probe is ongoing, investigators are “diligently exploring every possible lead” to bring the killers to justice and implored on the public to assist in that effort.
“As such, the GPF hereby announces that a reward in the sum of G$3,000,000.00 (three million Guyana dollars) is being offered to any person or persons who can provide information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of these gruesome murders,” the Force said in its statement, adding that the information would be treated with the strictest confidence.

But such a move, according to Hughes, is an “admission of failure”.
“I think that the fact that they are offering a reward is an admission of failure and an admission that they are unable to solve the crime with their present means and, therefore, they are hoping that by a financial incentive that somebody will come forward,” Hughes told the media during a press conference.
In his experience, Hughes explained, when rewards are offered for crimes, many people who do not possess reliable information and some who may sometimes “create” information come forward with the aim of only claiming the reward.
“The mere fact that they decided to offer a 3 million reward for information indicates that they have failed in their efforts to solve the case,” he said.
What the authorities should do, Hughes suggested, is secure the best forensic experts available to solve the murders with the best being the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team – EAAF.
Investigators had already received outside assistance with the probe from the CARICOM Regional Security Service (RSS). While the team’s report has not yet been made public, President Irfaan Ali had disclosed that the team recommended that additional works be conducted. He also said that the team was “satisfied” with the work being done by local police.
To bring in the Argentine team with the necessary equipment needed to conduct their investigations, Hughes said, would cost $4 million with the exception of travel, meals and accommodation.
An additional US$1,000 would be needed to ship the needed equipment and that team would comprise of a forensic anthropologist from Argentina, two forensic pathologists and a criminalist.
While the Force had expressed positive reports, welcoming the assistance of the team, there has been no response to the several letters dispatched to the Home Affairs Minister regarding their involvement.
Family members also pointed out that when the issue was raised with President Ali, merely two weeks ago, his response was not positive.
At the moment, there is no confidence that the Force would be able to solve the murders, Hughes stated, owing to many factors.
He pointed out that they are yet to locate the crime scene where the boys were brutally slain and DNA sample results from a cigarette butt retrieved from the scene did not match DNA taken from the suspects who were arrested.
The Force had hit a bump in their investigations after it was revealed that the teens were killed elsewhere and their bodies dumped at Cotton Tree. Detectives had encountered difficulties accessing the crime scene due to the several days of violent protests by the West Coast Berbice residents.
However, after the chaos subsided, investigating ranks were able to access the scene and only then could have determined that the boys were not killed at the spot where they were found.
The Force had said that a full-fledged team that consisted of 75 police ranks, the Major Crimes Unit (MCU) from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters along with ranks from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh conducted a “methodical” eight-hour search in the backlands with the hopes of finding anything of evidential value to the investigations. Ranks on the ground also received aerial support via a helicopter from the GDF. The team led by the Regional Commander unfortunately failed to find any evidence to aid their investigations.
Added to that, Hughes revealed that Joel was found in pants other than the ones he was last seen with. But the police, he said, did not send those for forensic analysis.
Asked how he knew of this, Hughes said he asked an officer pointed questions but he did not receive a definite answer.
“I asked a very specific question of one of the investigators and he was unable to respond positively. My history of dealing with the Guyana Police Force is that they are normally not reluctant to share that kind of information if they are in possession of it…As a matter of fact, my analysis of his response was almost as if he was saying ‘Oh God we should have done it’ so that is the basis upon which I said that,” the Attorney said.
The family will continue to press for Government’s assistance in bringing the Argentine team to Guyana to solve the murders, Hughes said.
Asked whether there is a timeframe, which they are working within, Hughes said, “The clock has been ticking since the bodies were found.”
“This event, these murders have left an open gaping wound in the Guyanese society. It is not healing and it is not likely to be healed unless this is solved,” he added.
The mutilated bodies of Joel and Isaiah Henry were found back on September 6, in clumps of bushes near to a coconut estate located at Cotton Tree Backdam, WCB.
Protests marred by violence had erupted over the news of their gruesome murder and days later, the body of another teen, Haresh Singh was found, lying in a patch of grass and bleeding from the nose at the Number Three Village backdam.
Singh was later pronounced dead at a hospital and was identified as the grandson of one of the suspects, a rice farmer, who was in police custody at the time for the murder of the Henry boys.

 

 

---

---