Almost three months have passed without any charges over the murder of Keron Herbert, who was fatally shot on Boxing Day last year, prompting his father to call on police for answers.
A grieving Kenneth Herbert told Stabroek News that he is still trying to come to grips with the fact that his son is dead and his fears that the murder will become a “cold” case are being confirmed daily with the lack of progress in the investigation.
In a recent interview, he called on the police to at least contact the man’s family members with an update on the case so that they can know that it has not been forgotten about.
“Ow man, they can at least call one time and say, you know this happen or we ain’t get nothing yet but hoping to and that would bring out some sort of comfort,” Kenneth said, while noting that this will possibly ease the family’s tension.
He said since the police took a statement from him, he was never called, visited or informed about the matter again.
Keron, 29, of East La Penitence, Georgetown, was shot several times about his body around 8 pm on December 26, 2015, while he was closing his stall at Vendors Arcade, at Regent Street, Georgetown. He succumbed to his injuries the following day at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
When contacted for an update on the case, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum said while investigations into the matter are ongoing, detectives have so far questioned at least two suspects. He noted that there is a still a remaining suspect who is currently being pursued by the police.
Kenneth Herbert recalled the night of the shooting. “After they take he to the hospital and so, I went and then I had to go secure the stall and there is where I see like two to three men in plain clothes. From there, they did done tell me they ain’t get nothing and nobody ain’t see anything, so there is nothing they can do about it [the case],” he related.
Despite this, he said he still has faith in the police.
The emotional father said he has been doing as much as he can and has been keeping “his ears open” but declared that “to really follow this thing, I need to get a lawyer and, to be honest, sis, I don’t have them kind of money that.”
He added that he is quite sure that there was possibly surveillance footage of the attack on his son from the area but the question of whether any was obtained or even reviewed remains unanswered for him.
“I still depending on the police to do their work though, because I know to my heart one day I will be able to know who kill my son,” he stated.
Since Keron Herbert’s death, his father said, the family hasn’t been the same.
He said Keron’s two children are suffering, especially his 10-year-old daughter, who still dreams of her father’s death. “She still gets dreams of her father death although she did not witness it. It’s the manner in which they killed him. I recalled her mother calling me recently saying that the child won’t sleep many nights because of how close she was to her father,” he added.
He said Keron was the sole breadwinner for his family and everyone depended on him.
“I think what struck a lot of people is after he went in jail and come out back, he changed a lot to be somebody for he self and there was a lot that he wanted to achieve, generally, and that bother people, because they did want him continue to the ‘bad boy’ they knew he was,” Kenneth explained.
Keron, an ex-soldier had been implicated in the killing of two gold dealers at Bartica in 2010 but the charges against him and his co-accused were subsequently dismissed due to the lack of evidence. His co-accused, Rawle Newton, was found dead last year in Eccles.
The allegation was that between September 4 and 5 at Bartica, they murdered Ramdeo Deonarine and Jainarine Raghubir. The duo were both bound and had deep wounds inflicted to their throats. It was reported that approximately $1.2 million in cash as well as 100 ounces of raw gold and two laptops were stolen from the house.
Keron’s father stated that he is not ruling out a possible link to the dismissed case. He maintained that the murder looked like a hit but he said that he wasn’t aware whether his son was involved in anything that would result in such a “brutal” outcome.
