Pres. Ali says investigators must be given latitude, time to solve Berbice murders

President Irfaan Ali is confident that investigators will be able to solve the gruesome murders of Berbice teens, Isaiah Henry, Joel Henry and Haresh Singh.

The President, in his speech to culminate his first 100 days in office, said local investigators must be given the latitude, time and cooperation needed to bring those guilty to justice.

“My government will persevere in its efforts to ensure that justice is served. I am confident that we will be able to bring the guilty to justice. Our investigators, however, must be given the latitude, time and cooperation to bring the guilty to justice. These deaths are not a matter which should be manipulated to divide our people. Every life matters,” the President stated.

The President explained that the Regional Security System (RSS) team, which was invited to Guyana to assist with the investigations, has expressed confidence in local investigators. The team arrived in Guyana late September and spent one week.

The President further said that the violent protests which followed the murder of the teens were due to “political manipulations.”

Meanwhile, one week after the Guyana Police Force offered a $3M reward for credible information to assist with the murder investigations, several persons were arrested and questioned.

“For the past several days, the police arrested several persons and questioned them in relation to the murders,” Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told the News Room on Thursday.

The Crime Chief said because of the sensitive nature of the investigation, no further information can be shared with the media. DNA samples from the first group of persons who were arrested for the murders of the Henry cousins were sent to St. Lucia in September for further analysis but the police have remained tight-lipped about the results.

The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) has also approached the government seeking their joint financial support to bring a team of Forensic Pathologists from Argentina to assist the police in solving the murders.

Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, has said the government favours working with its usual partners from the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.

The mutilated bodies of Isaiah, 16, and Joel, 18, were found in the Cotton Tree backlands, West Coast Berbice on September 6. The killers carved out a huge ‘X’ on Isaiah’s head while they cut open Joel’s chest.

The cousins had left their Number 3 Village, West Coast Berbice home to go into the backdam to pick coconuts the day before their bodies were found.

On September 14, the police determined that the boys were murdered somewhere else and then dumped in the backlands of Cotton Tree.

It was during those protests after the killings that 17-year-old Haresh Singh was killed.