The police are still on the trail of two suspects in the murder of Linden shop owner Romel Edison Gomes.
Commander of ‘E’ Division (ag) Anthony Vanderhyden told Sunday Stabroek that while no arrest has yet been made, investigations are ongoing and several persons have been questioned so far.
Vanderhyden previously told this newspaper that several checks were made for the suspects but the police were unsuccessful in locating them.
A source told Sunday Stabroek that among the persons questioned by police was a man who was reportedly part of the plot to rob Gomes but withdrew. This man is said to have refused to cooperate with the police during questioning.
Gomes, called “Eddie,” a father of one of Lot 53 Wismar Housing Scheme, Linden, was found in his shop in a pool of blood with his hands bound and a kerchief tied around his mouth last Monday afternoon.
The murder is suspected to have occurred around 5.30pm on Monday, after which the suspects fled the scene in Gomes’ car, PVV 2057, which had been parked in front of his premises. The car was recovered intact about 9 am Tuesday at One Mile Wismar, said to be a seven-minute drive from the scene.
While the motive for the killing remains unclear, the accounts of multiple persons who were in the vicinity suggest that Gomes was in his shop when he was approached by the two suspects.
An argument ensued, during which he was shot. It is yet to be determined if anything was stolen.
Residents reported hearing a loud explosion coming from the scene and upon checking they discovered Gomes’ lifeless body in a pool of blood.
A post-mortem examination revealed that Gomes died as a result of gunshot injury to the head.
Gomes’ brother-in-law, Jerome Allicock had related to this newspaper that based on what he learnt, the murder occurred shortly after Gomes’ three-year-old was picked up by his babysitter.
“He [the child] don’t normally be in the yard playing, so when she [the babysitter] pass and see him, she went and hold him and call Romel,” Allicock had related. “She [the babysitter] told him to take Mani [the child] inside but I hear Romel tell them [the bandits] ‘Wait, leh this girl collect meh son,’” he said.
According to Allicock, the woman had just walked away from the scene when she heard the sound of a gunshot.
Gomes owned and operated a grocery shop in front his house.
