Barticians are divided in their opinions regarding the alleged involvement of Roger Simon in the recent slaughter there even as the man’s relatives contend that he was not in the community on the night when gunmen killed 12 people.
Simon, 44, a miner of 25 Fifth Avenue, Bartica was recently charged with the February 17 murders of the 12 people, including three policemen. His relatives told Stabroek News on Tuesday that Simon, a father of four, was in the interior at the time of the incident and they found it quite strange that he was implicated in the slaughter.
Shaunette Simon, the man’s daughter told Stabroek News during an interview in Bartica on Tuesday that her father was at 14 Mile in the interior along with his 18-year-old son at the time of the killings. She said he had made contact with them two days after the slaughter to find out how they were coping and advised them to be watchful.
About two weeks after, Shaunette said, he returned home and was in Bartica for another two weeks, during which time he was never approached by the police or questioned in relation to the killings. Simon subsequently travelled to Linden to meet some of his friends and it was in the bauxite mining town that the police picked him up.