FBI assisting police in solving West Berbice teen murders

Jan 06, 2021 News

Murdered cousins: Joel and Isaiah Henry

Murdered: Haresh Singh

Kaieteur News – Assisting the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in its efforts to solve the gruesome triple murders of the Berbice teens is the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The FBI is a domestic intelligence and security service of the United States of America (USA). It is also considered to be the US’ principal law enforcement agency.
According to a release sent to this media house, the police force stated that it has sought assistance from the FBI as the probe continues into the murders of Haresh Singh, 17, and the Henry cousins – Joel, 16, and Isaiah,19.
In fact, Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, told Kaieteur News yesterday that the FBI has already began the process of assisting police with certain aspects of the investigation. He added that the US law enforcement agency would be providing technical assistance to GPF, which does not require their physical presence in Guyana.
The three teens were brutally slain in early September, sparking protests, robberies, and the blocking of the roads in West Berbice. Several vehicles were burnt during the protests as access to and from Berbice were cut off for days.
Police and army ranks had to be shuttled to the area to bring back some level of normalcy.
The mutilated bodies of Joel,16, and Isaiah Henry, 19, were the first to be discovered next to a coconut farm at Cotton Tree Backdam, West Coast Berbice (WCB).
A rice farmer was arrested as one of the suspects for their murder. A few days later amidst the violent protest, his grandson, Haresh Singh, 17, was also killed in an apparent retaliation.
In a few days’ time, it will be four months since they were killed and their killer (s) are yet to be charged. Help was received from regional investigators (RSS).
Police offered a $3M reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators. A number of suspects were arrested, but subsequently released.
The Director of the Argentine Team of Forensic Anthropology (EAAF), Dr. Luis Fondebrider, was also brought in by the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) to assess whether or not his team can help.
He conducted a four-day visit, where he visited the crime scene and family members of both Singh and the Henry cousins.
Well-placed police sources had told Kaieteur news that local pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh, had advised that the EAAF director could be provided with a video of the autopsy conducted on the teens. With a copy of the video, he would be able to form his own opinion or conclusion.
Sources said that investigators had communicated this to Fondebrider, but he is yet to respond.
Nevertheless, the police force said it is positive that the FBI will play a key role in helping it crack the case.
The FBI is equipped with special agents, support professionals such as intelligence analysts and scientists.
The agency has successfully solved a number of high profile cases in its homeland such as the 1993 World Trade Centre Bombings.
FBI agents had also worked in the past with Guyanese lawmen in investigating the 1978 murder of a US congressman, Leo Ryan Jr., and the mass suicide in Jonestown.
The agency was successful in extraditing, Larry Layton, one of the men involved in what is known as the Crime of the Century. Layton was later convicted in the US and sentenced to life imprisonment.

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