The police were up to late yesterday working to close the investigation into the murder of British teen Dominic Bernard and the case file is expected to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) today for advice on charges.
This was confirmed by Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum, who told Stabroek News that five persons, including prime suspects Aaron Hing and Staymon George, remain in custody.
The others in custody include a woman who tried to help George leave the country, and a friend of Hing. It was unclear if all five suspects will be charged jointly for the murder.
On Monday, the High court granted a 72-hour extension to police for the detention of the suspects without charges.
Police have said both men confessed to luring Bernard, 18, to his death at Nurney, Berbice, as part of detailed plan to rob him. A shallow grave in which what is believed to be Bernard’s body was found had been dug two days before the teen arrived in the country, according to the account the men have reportedly given to the police. Bernard had travelled from London to Guyana on October 14, 2015. His father has said that the teen was supposed to have been visiting Hing.
Both Hing and George had picked Bernard up at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, and then later took him to Nurney, where they claimed they wanted to show him something in the backlands. The teen reportedly agreed to accompany them to the area, where they allegedly bludgeoned him to death and threw him into the shallow grave
A post-mortem examination that was performed on what are suspected to be the teen’s decomposed remains concluded that Bernard died from subdural haematoma as a result of multiple cranial fractures, compounded by fracture to the spine.
