The charred remains found following a fire at a Wales, West Bank Demerara house two weeks ago, is suspected to be that of Elvin Ceres and DNA samples have been taken for testing.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum yesterday indicated that the samples taken from the corpse will be sent for testing to determine if the body was indeed Ceres.
Ceres, 43, of Timehri, East Bank Demerara went missing on June 30, the day the fire occurred. His family suspects the body could be his, because he had been employed by the owner of the house for a number of years.
At the time of the fire, the house was unoccupied since the owner, Elizabeth Sattaur, resides at Timehri.
Eyewitnesses had related to this newspaper that a passerby, who was drinking at a nearby shop, saw the fire and sounded an alarm after which both residents and the Wales Estate Fire Service responded. The house was quickly engulfed by the flames.
Sattaur had said the fire was electrical in origin based on accounts given to her by neighbours. She had said neighbours told her there was a blackout and when the power returned, the utility post with the line to her house was sparking.
Guyana Fire Service Operations Manager Compton Sparman had recently told this newspaper that based on the uncertainties surrounding the discovery of the body, the police force was called in to conduct investigations, as foul play was suspected. He noted that grillwork on the house might have been the reason why the person was unable to escape from the building.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, Ceres’s brother, Terrence (only name given) said he heard about the fire when he visited the airport on July 4. “I went the airport to pick up someone but the flight cancel and I couldn’t make it back so I send someone else and he come back and tell me that a friend told him that the people Elvin does work for house burn down and they can’t find him,” Terrence explained.
As a result of this, Terrence said, he sensed something was amiss and decided to make checks and contact family members for any information of Ceres’s whereabouts. After this proved futile, Terrence said, flyers and missing notices were placed around various parts of the city and beyond to aid in locating this brother, but to date there has been no information as to his whereabouts.
He added that based on his knowledge his brother had been employed with Sattaur at her business, Roti Palace, located in Timehri for over 10 years.
“He used to do all kind work for her, plumbing, electrical and was even at one point her personal security,” Terrence stated. He said he also understood that Ceres maintained the Wales house and would sleep there sometimes. “Sometimes she [Sattaur] would give him the car and keys for the house and tell he go check around the place,” Terrence said.
When contacted yesterday, Sattaur admitted that Ceres was once employed with her, but she said she subsequently rented the business and he continued to work for the tenants.
She explained that the keys which would usually allow Ceres access to the house were handed back to her after she rented the business. However, Sattaur did not doubt that the body could be his, noting that it was possible that he had extra keys to the house without her knowledge.
A post-mortem examination performed on the charred remains yesterday revealed that the individual died from suffocation due to inhalation of smoke.
The body was found in a crouching position in the bathroom area of the self-contained room in the bottom flat of the house.
