Saturday December 10, 2016
Kaieteur News
Bank employee’s body found in warehouse PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley led the nation’s outrage at the murder of a 20-year-old bank employee, whose body was found among boxes at a warehouse in the heart of the capital late Thursday. Rowley said that the death of Shannon Banfield, who had been reported missing on Monday after leaving work and going to the store where her body was eventually found “brings home to us most starkly the fact that none of us is immune to the evils of the criminal mind and action. “My heart goes out to the distressed family and community who have to live and relive this unspeakable horror. My Government, as indeed the country, expects that our law enforcement personnel to leave no stone unturned in order to bring the perpetrator/s of this dastardly deed to well-deserved justice of the severest kind in the shortest possible time.,” her added. Police said that two employees of the company,
whom they had earlier described as “persons of interest” had surrendered on Thursday night. Banfield’s co-workers in a statement, described the death as “a tragedy of immeasurable proportions and we are at a loss for words to express our shock and sadness. We kept vigil with the rest of the nation’s concerned citizens, in the hope of a safe return of our team member. “This is a sad day for the Republic Bank team and for our nation,” the statement noted, adding that counselling will be provided for affected co-workers. The law enforcement authorities were led to the body after shoppers and vendors in the area complained of a foul stench emanating from
the building. A security guard is reported to have found the body hidden under a set of boxes in a second-storey storeroom which is off limits to customers. Police arrived on the scene shortly after and detained all employees for questioning as crime scene investigators processed the scene. Media reports Friday said that the body bore marks of violence on the neck and upper body and her clothing was torn. But investigators said they would wait until an autopsy is performed at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, later Friday to determine her cause of death. So far 435 people have been murdered here this year.
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