..Hughes says families of slain teens “deeply disturbed” by lethargic investigative efforts
By Lisa Hamilton
The DNA results taken from murdered West Coast Berbice teens, Isaiah and Joel Henry have returned to Guyana but do not match any of the suspects previously arrested by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for questioning.
On Friday, Attorney representing the families of the teens, Nigel Hughes, was briefed on the results of the DNA samples which recently returned from St. Lucia.
Based on the dead ends thus far; the strategies of the GPF; and the limited effort of the State to assist, Hughes told the Village Voice that he is not optimistic that, at this pace, the gruesome crime will be solved.
“The DNA results proved negative. This is DNA they took off of a cigarette butt that was found at one of the locations where they suspect that the bodies had been and that came back negative for any of the suspects they had arrested,” Hughes updated.
“Essentially, they have no leads really. None. On behalf of the family — apart from deeply disappointed — our skepticism about the enthusiasm of the Guyana Police Force to solve this crime has been significantly increased. Personally, I’m not only skeptical, I’m reaching the stage where I don’t believe that there is a resolve to solve this. I don’t believe that the necessary commitment to resolve this is there.”
Pressed by the media days ago for an update on the investigation, President Irfaan Ali said that the Regional Security System (RSS) — invited by the Government to help solve the crime — had urged the GPF to do more work but were otherwise pleased with the current performance.
“I have not seen a copy of it but I have been briefed on the content of it and what I’ve been told is that the RSS did some work, they recommended some additional work to be done. But, in total, they were satisfied with the work the local police have been doing,” he told reporters.
However, unsatisfied are the familes of Isaiah and Joel Henry who are yet to receive closure on the murders that rocked the nation since September 6, 2020.
Hughes said: “The families are deeply, deeply disturbed not only by the inaction but the failure and the comprehensive lack of progress. Their level of confidence in the Guyana Police Force to solve this is now seriously challenged.”
On September 6, the body of 19-year-old Joel was found with wounds across the body, seven to eight chops to the head, and defensive wounds in both palms from a sharp object. It was concluded, from those injuries, that he fell to the ground then received a chop to his back 14 inches x 3 and 6 inches deep that severed his spine. There was also evidence that he bit his tongue and his throat was slit.
The body of 16-year-old Isaiah was also found with a severed spine. His wound was 14 inches long, 4 inches wide and 6 inches deep. Isaiah received several chops to his head, and his throat too was slit, almost to sever his head from his neck. Attorney Hughes said that there is nothing about these events that have led lawyers on the case to believe that it was an average execution.
The Attorney’s firm has been advocating for international assistance to help solve the crime. At the beginning of October, the GPF, the Human Rights Association (GHRA) and the Hughes Fields and Stoby law firm announced that an Argentine Team of Forensic Anthropology, which has worked on high-profile cases worldwide, had offered to send a team to Guyana to help solve the cases.
The team would include a forensic pathologist, a forensic anthropologist and a forensic radiologist and would bring along their own equipment. However, Hughes said that the Government seems uninterested in the offer and has not stepped up to facilitate the travels of the expert team.
“We understand that the State is no longer interested in having the Argentineans come and it is clear that the RSS did not possess any greater capacity than the Guyana Police Force,” he said. “It has now been degraded to the stage of perhaps a cold case of people going through the motions without any real expectation that it will be solved.”
In the interview, Hughes told the Village Voice that his law firm has planned a press conference for next week which will be attended by the families of the Henry boys where they will share with the public their assessment and what they believe the next steps should be.
The Attorney said that he has written twice to Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn and he is yet to receive a response as to when the public will be updated about the status of the investigation.
