Police to charge three with murder of Henry boys

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali – Hack has recommended criminal charges for three persons for their involvement in the gruesome murder of teen cousins, Isaiah and Joel Henry.

Investigators on Wednesday sent the file to the DPP for legal advice; that file was returned on Thursday advising the police to go ahead with charging the three persons who police currently have in their custody.

The trio is expected to be arraigned at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

There are reports that the police have built a solid case against those detained. It is reported in sections of the media that the police have also secured confessions from the detainees.

Their identities have not been disclosed.

The breakthrough in the case comes almost four months after the murders of the teenagers.

The police and the government have been under pressure by the relatives of the boys and the public to solve the crimes, which sparked violent protests throughout the country.

There was also a push for an Argentine Forensic team to offer assistance but authorities recently revealed that the FBI has been assisting.

The mutilated bodies of Isaiah, 16, and Joel, 18, were found in the Cotton Tree backlands, West Coast Berbice on September 6, 2020. 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 on September 5 and that was the last time they were seen alive.

A Post Mortem Examination (PME) found that they both died from haemorrhage and shock due to multiple incised injuries including severed spines.

Approximately 27 persons were arrested during the course of the investigation but all were released due to lack of evidence.

On September 14, 2020, the police determined that the boys were murdered somewhere else and then dumped in the backlands of Cotton Tree.

Mass protests erupted following the killings. It was during those protests that 17-year-old Haresh Singh was killed. The police have not been able to arrest anyone in connection with his murder.