Police accused of intimidating Henry family

…Hughes cites excessive filming of witnesses, lengthy detention

The arrest of six witnesses who provided an alibi for Glaston Henry jr who is accused of murdering Haresh Singh is seen as yet another attempt by the police to turn things around  and deny the family justice.

Gladston Henry snr, the  father of the accused and one of the Henry Cousins who were gruesomely  murdered last September, told the Village Voice News on Friday afternoon that the arrest of his wife Patricia Henry and five other women has left the family at its wits end, as he deemed the situation “very hard” to decipher.

Police said in a statement later on Friday that six of the nine alibi witnesses for Gladston Henry, who has been charged with the murder of  Singh, were arrested by the police having been brought in to CID Headquarters,  Eve Leary, by their Attorney.

The women-Tiffany Campbell,  Alona Bacchus, Patricia Henry,  Bibi Shaheman, Clarett Kurtizious and Amanda Wickham- were placed on $100,000 bail after the police alleged that they attempted to pervert the course of justice.

The police said the women were subjected to video interviews and it was noted too that efforts are being made to question the remaining three persons, which has been communicated to the Attorney, as the investigations continue into this matter.

On completion of the investigation, the file will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice, the police said.

Gladston Henry, the father of Glaston, told this newspaper that he cannot fathom what the police’s motive in the situation, noting that his wife fainted several times on Friday while at CID.

Henry said that his wife is trying her best to stay positive as he noted that he isn’t scared but he is unsure what next lays ahead.

Attorney Nigel Hughes, who appeared on behalf of the women,  noted that the police invited the six persons who gave the statements on their alibi and they were subsequently arrested and interviewed for six hours. He described the day as unprecedented noting that that there were no less than 15 police officers filming the ladies as they walked into the CID Headquarters. “They were all video recorded and interviewed ,“Hughes said,  noting that the women  maintained their story and he noted that they gave details of where they were. He said the ladies held out that the accused Glaston Henry was in their company at the time of Singh’s murder.

Hughes said around 6pm , the police indicated that the ladies would be released on $100,000 bail and he noted that he informed the police official  that it would have been difficult to find that amount of money at that time of the day since they all hail from West Coast Berbice. He said the officer ignored his plea and according to him, one of the ladies were able to raise the funds while the others were taken to the East La Penitence Police station .

As regards the video recording of the post-mortem of the murdered Joel Henry, Hughes said he spoke to Attorney Patrice Henry who has  confirmed that he was transmitting the video recording of the PM last September. Hughes, who was also at the PM, said that he has cleared up that aspect where the police suggested that no live recording was done.

As regards Friday’s events, Hughes said a statement made my Patricia Henry when she specifically described the clothing of Inspector Sarrabo , who was at their home  on September 9, 2020 where the accused Glaston Henry was also present.  He said the police has provided a photograph of Sarabo in the clothing which the woman recalls seeing him wearing that day.

Hughes said the woman are adamant that Glaston Henry was at the family home on September 9, 2020 as he noted the Henry family maintains that they will go to lengths to confirm that Gladston is innocent of the charges.

Hughes described the situation as “disturbing” noting that an attempt is being made to intimidate the Henry family.

Glaston Henry and three others were last week charged with the murder of Singh, who was killed days after the mutilated bodies of Joel and Isaiah Henry were found in the backlands at CottenTree, East Coast Berbice. While the police have placed several men before the courts for that murder, the family of the Henry cousins believe that those are not the real killers of the cousins.