The investigations into the Anna Catherina triple murder have come to a standstill and with no concrete evidence, the main suspect continues to roam free.
Jennifer Persaud, 41, and her sons Afridi Bacchus, 6, and Jadon Persaud, 18 months, were discovered on September 22 in her bedroom, with stabs wounds and their throats slit.
All that police have against Persaud’s 23-year-old partner, who is the father of her youngest child, is a pair of his pants which have what appear to be tiny spots of blood. It has since been confirmed that it was indeed blood on the pants but from all indications no attempt is being made to have it sent to an overseas lab for DNA testing to determine if the blood belongs to Persaud.
A police source told this newspaper recently that this case “has nowhere to go” without evidence to at least link the suspect to the crime scene.
The source insisted that more work should have been done by the investigators in the hours after the discovery which are critical to any investigation.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud had told this newspaper last month that investigators were awaiting “lab reports.” This was apparently the bloodstains. The source however pointed out to this newspaper that even if the stains were confirmed to be blood this would not carry any weight in terms of the investigation.
The source repeated that the two lived together and there were a variety of ways in which tiny drops of blood could appear on his clothing. In addition, because of the small amount, he wouldn’t deem it as anything that could impact the investigation.
The source said that the other issue with the droplets would be to find who they belonged to. For that to be established they would have to be sent abroad for DNA testing which would be costly.
It may be that this has not been done so far, not only because of the cost factor, but because the pants did not have enough blood to raise questions.
The suspect and a relative were arrested in connection with the murder but were later released from police custody owing to lack of evidence.
Persaud was the owner of a thriving liquor store in her community, but had shared a tumultuous two-year relationship with her partner, neighbours and relatives had reported. She made several complaints of abuse to the police and had evicted the man out of her home several times.
Just before her death, she had evicted him after a fight.
Relatives had become worried after they had not heard from the woman all day and calls to her home went unanswered and they travelled from the East Bank Demerara to visit her.
They again tried to make telephone contact with her and on entering the house they made the gruesome discovery. The woman was found lying in a pool of blood on her bed, clad in nightwear, with the body of the older child on her.
The infant was found on the ground beside the bed also in a pool of blood with his neck partially severed.
The man later turned up at the funeral service and according to relatives he had scratch marks on his neck. They said that the release of the two men had left them uncomfortable.
The family said later that they were unhappy with the pace of the police investigation. For them there was more than sufficient evidence to lay charges.
Her daughter Angela had said “According to the police, they have no concrete evidence… I don’t understand what is happening in this case,”
She stated that her mother had told the family that she was determined to end the relationship because the man was tied up with illegalities that she was unwilling to become involved with. After the last fight, she had made up her mind to leave the relationship permanently.
According to Angela the two fell out because “he was smoking weed in she shop and deh selling it to them lil boys round there.”
She noted too that her mother had disclosed before her demise that the man had been deported some two years ago as a result of his involvement in illegal drugs. She added that the man had gone to the United States as a teenager.
