…Henry boys’ family says suspects charged must be proven guilty
…was kept in the dark regarding arrest, laying of charges
By Lisa Hamilton
Though the Police have identified three suspects to be charged on Friday for the murders of Isaiah and Joel Henry, the boys’ family are adamant that they will only accept a conclusion of the investigation based on evidence and not merely confessions.
“Who are the three persons? We don’t know and we are not going for no confession, we need the evidence,” Gail Johnson, mother of Joel Henry told the Village Voice News in a telephone interview on Thursday.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has advised the police to charge three suspects, Anil Sanchara, Vinod Gopaul and Akash Singh for the gruesome murders of the Henry boys. They will appear in court tomorrow.
However, Johnson said that the case ought not to be closed unless the confessions of the men can be corroborated with evidence. She told the Village Voice News that her son and nephew had among other things, a cutlass, crow bar, and bicycle with them when they went to the backdam.
“They have to present these things before the Court before we can accept that they murdered them,” Johnson said. “We are not going to accept it just so,” she declared.
Colwyn Henry, Joel’s brother, agrees: “Them three that [are] claiming that they did it, we’re not saying that they didn’t do it, but we know that’s not all [of them].”
“From the beginning, we tell them that we don’t want confessions, we want evidence. Even self that they find the killer they have to have the evidence,” Colwyn said.
The Henry family said that they have not been invited to the Court proceedings and it is unlikely that they will be present on Friday. They were also not contacted by the Police to determine whether they may know any of the suspects or to determine whether there is reason to believe the suspects had a known motive to kill the boys.
Furthermore, the family is displeased that the Police seldom contact them and they continue to learn bits and pieces about the progression of the case from the media.
Only on Monday they had protested outside the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) calling for the Police to provide updates to their family.
“I did not receive any [update] from the Police more than today, Mr. Simon [Region Five Police Commander] come today and said that [Crime Chief Wendell] Blanhum called and tell he that they get three persons in custody,” Johnson said.
“You know how long Mr. Blanhum [hasn’t contacted us]? One time or two times he answered his phone, he never answered back his phone and then all they called him he refused to answer. Mr. Blanhum got to know that we are human beings and we are not animals and Mr. Blanhum has to respect us because we have the losses,” she told Village Voice News.
Isaiah’s mother, Patricia Henry posited that the Police has not been efficient in keeping the family informed: “People calling us and telling us they see things on Facebook, they see things on headline but we know nothing…as the Police they need to give more updates. You can’t tell the whole of Guyana and then the parents are last to know. That is not right.”
She does not believe that only three men are responsible for the gruesome murder of Isaiah and Joel. Like her relatives, she demands that the evidence match the confessions reportedly made.
On September 6, 2020, 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 that day 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 Nigel Hughes, who is representing the family, said that there is nothing about these events that have led lawyers on the case to believe that it was an average execution.
