-Police hoping to make breakthrough soon as 4 persons remain in custody
By Kristen Macklingam
An employee of the elderly couple who were burnt to death in their Good Hope, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) home on Sunday night, along with a resident of the same village, is among the four suspects being detained by the police in relation to what many have described as the most “brutal and barbaric” act.
Meanwhile, the two other persons in police custody hail from villages close to the home of the dead couple, Mohamed and Jamila Munir. These two suspects are characters known to the police since they have been fingered and implicated in a number of ‘break and enter’ reports on previous occasions.
This publication understands that all four suspects are relatively young, none of them reaching their 30thbirthday, and from information gathered thus far by investigators, there is enough evidence for them to be further detained or possibly charged later.
The 72-hour detention and questioning period (three days) for the four individuals expires sometime today (Thursday) and investigators are said to be presently applying for an extension to keep the suspects in custody.
This publication was told that while the four persons are co-operating, they are “not admitting to certain facts” but of the group, one particular suspect, is said to be “co-operating quite well.”
Investigators are still grilling these suspects with hopes of getting a solid breakthrough in the case to determine those involved in committing the brutal act and the motive for doing so. However, from all accounts so far, it appears to have been a “planned robbery” gone haywire, said one police source.
On Sunday night, residents of the quiet, close knitted community of Good Hope, EBE, were left in a state of disbelief and distress after they witnessed the Munir’s home go up in flames with the elderly couple trapped inside.
Persons rushed out to save the husband and wife who were screaming for help as the heat and the blaze intensified, but despite their efforts, the neighbours and others who ran to offer their assistance did not succeed.
The trapped couple could not have been saved since their house which was engulfed in flames had been heavily grilled. It is believed that the duo locked themselves in a room in their bid to hide from the gunmen.
Reports are around 23:00h on that fateful night an unidentified number of armed men entered the home of the elderly couple and shortly after gunshots rang out.
According to one neighbour, he heard the gunshots ringing out, and he looked out of his house to see what was transpiring. That was when he noticed smoke and fire coming from the house. He also heard the elderly couple screaming for help.
According to him, ranks of the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) took between 30mins to 45mins to arrive at the scene of the fire, and by the time they got to the burning house there was little that could have been done to save the house or those trapped inside.
