7 Police confirm Henry teens were not killed in coconut field where bodies were found …all suspects released, Police pursuing 2 additional persons T NEWS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
he Guyana Police Force has revealed that 16-year-old Isaiah and 19-year-old Joel Henry were murdered in one location and then their bodies transported to the Coconut Estate on which they were discovered close to two weeks ago. The badly-mutilated bodies of Isiah and Joel were discovered almost one day after they went missing. They reportedly left on Friday their Number Three Village, West Coast Berbice homes to pick coconuts in the backdam. Their disappearance prompted family members to launch several search parties to look for them. After hours of searching, the badly-chopped bodies were discovered among the bushes and were partially covered in mud. Following the discovery and the gruesome manner in which the boys were murdered, Cotton Tree residents took to the streets. They blocked the roads and burned debris, all while calling for jus-
Murdered: Isaiah Henry
tice. The police nevertheless, stated that investigators were confronted with some challenges, particularly as it relates to accessing the crime scene with the roads being blocked. However, once the ranks on the ground ensured safe passage for the investigators and crime scene ranks, preliminary findings showed that
the bodies of the Henry boys were discovered at a secondary crime scene. “Meaning that the heinous murders were not committed where the bodies were found. Person(s) moved the bodies after the murder and placed them at the locations where they were subsequently discovered. Further, after the crime scene ranks classified the location where the bodies were discovered as a secondary crime scene, forensic evidence was discovered at the said area,” the police said in a statement. Investigators said that forensic evidence was identified, collected, preserved and submitted to the Guyana Forensic Laboratory for DNA analysis to be conducted. DNA samples were also collected from the suspects who were in custody and sent for a comparative analysis to be conducted against the forensic evidence collected from the secondary crime scene. The Police Force said that
Murdered: Joel Henry
results are expected within three weeks. “At this time, the investigators are actively in search of the primary crime scene which would greatly assist in the probe as it will have an abundance of evidence linking the perpetrators to the crime. The investigators are all actively following up every lead and information received from mem-
bers of the public who have come forward to assist investigators,” the GPF related. According to the police, all the suspects that were in custody, initially, have been released on bail but are to report to the Blairmont Police Station at scheduled times. Additionally, Police are actively pursuing two other suspects. Investigators committed to ensuring that justice is served for the Henry cousins. The post-mortem examination (PME), conducted on the badly mutilated bodies of Joel and Isaiah found that the teenagers died as a result of haemorrhage and shock owing to the extent of their wounds. Following the autopsy, the family’s attorney, Nigel Hughes related that in the case of Joel, he had a total of 18 wounds. It is believed that the fatal wound severed the teenager’s spine between the 1st and 2nd vertebrae. “The pathologist suspected that after he got those wounds (to his head) he fell to
the ground and then got the wound that severed his spine... his wound was 14 inches by 3 inches wide by 6 inches deep,” Hughes had said. In the case of Isaiah, he also sustained a severed spine but unlike his cousin, the teenager had no defensive wounds. The attorney explained that Isaiah, however, sustained a number of chop wounds to his head. “Isaiah had no defensive wounds to his hand. He had several more chops to his head. His spine was severed between the 2nd and 3rd vertebrae and his was 14 inches by 4 inches wide by 6 inches in depth,” the attorney noted. The family took photographs as well as video footage of the bodies and autopsy to share with foreign forensic experts for their opinions. It was also related that the teenagers may have been dead for about 36 hours before they were discovered on Sunday, September 6, 2020. The teens were laid to rest on Sunday. (G2)
RUSAL in talks with Govt to return – Minister says workers’ rights must be protected
RUSAL executives in Guyana
M
ore than seven months after they packed up shop and left Guyana under a cloud, Russian Aluminum (RUSAL) is in talks with the new People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government over returning to Guyana. But the Government is making it clear that workers’ rights is of paramount importance if the company is to return. In an interview with this publication, Natural Resources Minister Vickram
Bharrat confirmed that negotiations are ongoing with RUSAL while noting that the Russian company has to make a formal submission to the Government on their requirements to restart the operation. “They were supposed to make a formal submission to us, as to what is needed to restart the operation and a timeframe to do so, so that we can have a second discussion and move the process forward. So, we’re waiting [for]
that submission formally,” Bharrat said. The Minister noted that the company has hinted that it wants Government’s assistance in dredging the Berbice River. When it comes to workers’ rights, Bharrat has made it clear that the Government will be expecting RUSAL to honour workers’ rights and pay fair wages, should they return. “During the talks, it was hinted that they would like us to dredge the Berbice River and assist in the mine (which is actually flooded). But no formal request was made to us,” Minister Bharrat explained. “We expect that workers’ rights must be protected, people are paid a fair wage, conditions in health and safety regulations, everything must be in place. Our intention is to get the workers back to work, but not to compromise on anything,” the Minister also said. RUSAL’s Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) subsidiary left Guyana in February
of 2020, amid industrial unrest from their workers, terminating 326 employees in the process. Workers had been striking for some time over pay-related issues, going so far as to block the Berbice River. Prior to their decision to leave, BCGI was facing difficulties that included low production. In addition, when the company had initially announced its decision to terminate workers, it stated that it was experiencing difficulties after Government ended its duty-free arrangement for its fuel. However, following the decision to lay-off employees, workers and residents blocked the section of the Berbice River utilised by the Aroaima-based company. This further compounded the
Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat
company’s problems. A letter from the company dated January 29, 2020, which was seen by Guyana Times, indicated that the company was forced to further reduce operations and to lay-off employees owing to adverse
operating circumstances including shipment interruption because of the blockage of the Berbice River. In fact, other Private Sector companies operating in the area were also forced to send home their workers as a result of the blockage hindering their operations to move materials up and down the Berbice River. When the police arrived to remove the blockade from the river, they were faced with resistance from the workers and their families. The former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government was severely criticised for its handling of the issue and its failure to protect the interests of the hundreds of bauxite workers who were left jobless following the company’s decision.
