-both appear to have been tortured
The bodies of the two Kato, Region Eight-based policemen have been retrieved from the Paramakatoi, North Pakaraimas area and were airlifted to the city yesterday even as questions continue on their grisly murders.
Constables Marlon Letlow, a 27-year-old father of one of Lot 23 Goedver-wagting, East Coast Deme-rara and Leadon Aaron age 25, of Coldingen, East Coast Demerara had left the Kato Police Station on patrol duties sometime on Sunday night but never returned.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud when contacted yesterday related to this newspaper that Aaron was found by the team of investigators who flew into the area on Wednesday, strapped to a burnt tree truck. One of his feet was the only part of his body that was not burnt. From all indications the tree trunk was still smouldering when the investigators arrived. Relatives have since said that his legs were also broken, a sign that he had been tortured before his death.
Persaud said too that Letlow had what appeared to be pellet wounds. “He sustained multiple shots from a shotgun. He was shot in the back and appeared to have been running.”
Asked about a possible motive, he said that they have been receiving several bits of information including reports that the two had perpetrated a robbery but noted that the police are still investigating.
According to Persaud the duo was never missing, noting that ranks in the interior usually go out on patrol for about two weeks at the time. “That is nothing unusual”, he stressed. This newspaper was unable to ascertain if in such circumstances, the ranks are equipped with radios in order to communicate with their superiors in the event that something goes wrong. Because of the remoteness of the area, cell phones cannot always be used.
Persaud said that Letlow prior to his death was investigated “a few times for corruption but was never convicted”. He said he has no information about Aaron’s history.
Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell said “We are hearing all kinds of theories but we have dispatched a high power investigative team to investigate… Everything is just speculation”.
Police in a press release yesterday said that the bodies were found at Paramakatoi a short distance from each other.
“The service Carbine that had been uplifted by Constable Marlon Letlow was recovered along with eight rounds and eight spent shells. The service .38 Revolver that had been uplifted by Constable Leadon Aaron has not been found” the release said adding that one spent 12-gauge shotgun cartridge was found at the scene.
The Force ATV according to the release has also been recovered.
The police said that Letlow was reinstated in the Force on August 6 this year. He had been interdicted from duty after being charged following investigations into the robbery and murder of two gold miners at Bartica on September 05, 2010.
Constable Letlow, the release said was initially charged with being an “accessory after the fact” which was subsequently withdrawn and a charge of “receiving stolen property” instituted.
This matter was dismissed by the court on May 15, this year.
Post-mortem examinations will be performed on the bodies today.
During the course of yesterday, officers from the Police Welfare Department visited the relatives of the dead men and offered condolences and their support.
Relatives of both men say that they are baffled as to what had happened and at the moment they are hearing different things. They said that they are willing to await the findings of the police investigation before jumping to conclusions.
Aaron’s aunt Patricia Providence told Stabroek News that a brother identified the body at the Ogle Airport before it was transported to the Lyken’s Funeral Home. She said that her nephew was badly burnt and both legs were broken.
Relatives were last in contact with Aaron on Sunday morning via Black Berry Messenger (BBM). Provi-dence said that when she tried to contact her nephew later, he did not respond to her messages but she concluded that he was out of range and could not get a signal.
Meanwhile Letlow’s aunt Samantha Allen said that their focus was getting the body to the city. At the time she spoke to this newspaper she was unaware that the body had already been transported to the city.
According to her, based on the information they gathered, he was certainly alive sometime on Monday since he had spoken to the mother of his three-year-old son that day.
Based on information from relatives of the two, the men were killed sometimes between Monday afternoon and 10pm on Tuesday. A Brazilian man later reported seeing an ATV vehicle with its headlamps on and signs of blood. The ATV had turned turtle and there was no one in sight.
