A suspect has been detained in connection with the murder of political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum confirmed yesterday, while saying that the man was being “intensively interviewed” at CID Head-quarters, Eve Leary.
Blanhum called it a “significant development” in the case, for which police have been facing intense scrutiny for months.
On Wednesday, Blanhum had told reporters that the police force was still confident about solving the murder and that a strategy towards this end has been decided on.
Speaking to reporters at the TSU Drill Square, at Eve Leary, where a police force awards ceremony was held, Blanhum said he had met with the investigative team, which is made up of ranks who were selected to probe the case.
“We are continuing with our investigation and we have decided on a strategy which we will adopt in terms of solving Courtney Crum-Ewing’s murder,” he said, although he did not provide details.
Crum-Ewing, 40, was shot dead on March 10th at Diamond Housing Scheme, where he was urging residents to ensure that they cast their votes at the May polls to remove the then PPP/C government from office.
Police say that a car with four men drove up and discharged shots at him and then drove off. However, there is still uncertainty as to how many persons and vehicles were involved in the attack on Crum-Ewing, who was shot five times, including three times to the head. Police had recovered a number of .32 spent shells but ballistic tests did not yield any leads. Footage captured by several security cameras in the area were also useless.
In the initial stages of the investigation, about eight persons had been arrested by the police but they were all subsequently released. No one else was ever detained.
Just recently, WPA activist Dr David Hinds questioned whether there would ever be justice for Crum-Ewing. Hinds highlighted that the PPP/C had instructed the police to leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of the killer or killers, while the then opposition forces vowed to find the killers if they assumed office. Civil society, he said, also added its voice.
“Will there be justice for Courtney Crum-Ewing? …We know he died urging support for the APNU+AFC Coalition. The coalition is in office now. Courtney’s killers are walking free. Why must the blood of poor people always be shed in vain?” Hinds wrote in a letter.
Hinds also lamented the current lack of interest in the case. He noted that he has joined a protest organised by the slain man’s parents and friends and in the letter he highlighted that only a small number of persons turned up to support it.
“The few of us on that picket line looked like a lonely bunch. Others passed in their cars or on foot and a few curiously looked at us. One or two stopped to enquire what the picket was about. The majority went about their business as if we didn’t exist. Absent was the huge crowd that attended Courtney’s funeral. The politicians were nowhere in sight. It felt lonely. The media, it seems, could not be bothered; they were absent,” he wrote.
Persons have linked Crum-Ewing’s murder to his political activism, while suggesting that it was most likely he was targeted by persons who made threats to his life after he refused to end his open criticism of the former government.
For weeks, he had staged a one-man picket outside the office of then Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall over statements the AG had made in a recording that was made public last year. It was as a result of this protest action that he said he was threatened.
Shortly after taking up office, Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan had vowed to ensure that the man’s death will not be another unsolved murder. During a brief interview with Stabroek News, he had signaled his intention to reopen the case.
He said if it is found that evidence was hard to get and there was an indication from the Crime Chief that there was nothing more to be done, he would have a review of the case.
Crum-Ewing’s mother Donna Harcourt had expressed her preparedness to seek overseas help in the event that the police make no headway. She remains hopeful that she will one day get justice.
