The death of a four-year-old child in Linden is being treated as a murder after an autopsy showed that he died of head trauma and had been raped.
The dead child has been identified as Alex Prince, whose mother and step-father have been taken into custody. The child had been left in the custody of his step-father at Silver Hill, Linden-Soesdyke Highway, before being found dead last week Monday.
Senior Superintendent Kurleigh Simon, Commander of Region Four (b) (Eccles – Moblissa), last evening told Stabroek News that the child’s death is being treated as a homicide.
“The doctor gave his opinion which caused the police to believe that it was a homicide…based on the verbal opinion of the doctor, the child’s death was not natural, so we are actually dealing with a homicide investigation,” Simon explained.
He confirmed that child’s mother and step-father remain in police custody as the investigation continues.
Simon noted that the case file was yesterday dispatched to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice and was later returned with recommendation that some additional work be done.
Information reaching this newspaper revealed that Prince was left at home in the care of his 21-year-old step-father, while his 18-year-old mother went to work.
The step-father reportedly told the police that around 9.30am Monday, he left home and went to a shop.
Upon his return, he said, he discovered the child lying on the bed naked and motionless.
The child was rushed to Linden Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
A post-mortem examination revealed that he died as a result of blunt trauma to the head and that he had been sodomised.
Investigators, Simon said are hoping to wrap up the investigation and seek further legal advice today.
