Efforts are still being made to contact “another individual” in the Courtney Crum-Ewing murder investigation, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum said yesterday.
He did not mention any developments in the case and stressed that investigations are ongoing.
Stabroek News understands that the person being sought may be the person who hired the suspected trigger man, who is currently on remand after being charged with having an unlicensed firearm last week. An illegal gun found in the man’s Georgetown home last week Monday was matched to the Crum-Ewing crime scene by ballistics tests.
Police have already interviewed the man and have since been able to identify a second person who may possess information that is critical to the case.
Shortly after his death, Crum-Ewing’s relatives had told the media that two senior members of the former government had made threats to his life and these threats were reported to the Brickdam Police Station. The police have never disclosed clearly if those two persons were ever contacted and questioned about the reports.
Following the arrest of the suspect, Crum-Ewing’s mother Donna Harcourt said she wanted the persons who hired him caught and tried in a court of law, even if it would mean a reduced sentence for the triggerman.
Sources close to the investigation have revealed that the probe was at a standstill until a tip off led police to search a home, where a .32 pistol and several matching rounds were recovered. The home owner, known to the police, managed to elude cops but later turned himself in.
The confirmation that the man was being questioned in relation to the Crum-Ewing probe came days after the police expressed confidence about solving the crime.
Sources said that a description given by an eyewitness to the Crum-Ewing murder also matched that of the suspect.
Crum-Ewing was shot dead on March 10 in Diamond, East Bank Demerara, where he was urging residents to vote against the incumbent PPP/C at the May 11th elections.
He was shot five times, including three times to the head.
For weeks prior to his death, he had held one man protest outside the office of the then Attorney General Anil Nandlall, calling for his resignation over controversial statements he made during a telephone conversation with a Kaieteur News reporter that was made public.
At least eight persons had been arrested by the police in connection with the probe, but they were all subsequently released.
