By Leroy Smith
As the investigation continues into the alleged murder of 22-year-old school teacher, Kescia Branche, investigators continue to gather new information on a daily basis.
A post-mortem examination revealed that she died as a result of brain haemorrhaging and blunt trauma to the head. She also suffered a broken leg when she was discovered in an unconscious state on November 05 along a stretch of road in the environs of Princes Street and Louisa Row.
The teacher was found in close proximity to City Hall Sexton’s office that is located in a poorly lit and unsecured area, which runs all the way from Louisa Row through Sussex Street. This area has a gate and according to persons who traverse there daily, the gate is never closed nor is there any form of security on either side of the gated area.
In the past, the gates were closed but for some time now, it has been left unattended at nights and persons are allowed to traverse uninterrupted. Today, when the News Room visited the area, the supervisor of the crematorium confirmed that the police approached them and requested to have access to the CCTV footage which was handed over.
There are several other properties with surveillance cameras, some of which the police were able to access and others which they have not yet accessed because they never approached the occupants or in at least one case, the request to view the footage was denied.
The News Room was however granted access to footage from two of those premises. One woman said that her footage remains there and if the police are really interested in viewing same, she would grant the request.
However, another resident said that the police showed up at her premises and instead of properly informing her of what they needed, they only asked if her cameras are working, to which she responded in the negative.
It was only after News Room visited the resident today that she understood why the police visited and asked about her cameras. She then noted that she would grant the police’s request if they are interested in viewing the footage.
On Monday, the country’s Crime Chief (ag), Paul Williams assured the nation that they will bring closure to those who are hurting over the death of Branche. The Crime Chief assured that the investigation would be solved.
To date, a total of nine statements were taken from persons including four policemen, and two civilians and the father of Branche’s 3-year-old son.
The police are patiently awaiting the return of a taxi driver, who left the country after Branche was found unconscious; his car also remains in custody at the Brickdam Police Station. News Room understands that his phone number showed up consecutively in the mobile records of Branche just hours before she was found unconscious.
Detectives believe that the taxi driver might be the person who last saw Branche alive.
