Today will mark 30 years since security guard Monica Reece was murdered and her body dumped on Main Street and while the killing remains unsolved to date, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum has assured that the investigation remains open.
Blanhum recently reiterated to Stabroek News that the Guyana Police Force had a “real prospect” of successfully solving the case back in 2016 but a shake-up of the force got in the way.
In July, 2016, Blanhum had said that the Guyana Police Force’s (GPF) Cold Crimes Unit was reopening several cases, a decision which he had said followed calls made by members of the public, and particularly by relatives.
Blanhum said that sometime after this decision was taken, several ranks who were working on the case including him and the Head of the Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID) Major Crimes Department were removed from their posts.
The case was then handed over to other ranks who replaced them.
“Several persons were re-interviewed. Also former senior investigators who worked on the case were contacted and they provided pertinent information surrounding the investigation,” Blanhum said.
However, Blanhum said that since then there has been “significant” change in the circumstances.
Reece’s body was dumped from a speeding pickup vehicle in the vicinity of the Geddes Grant building (now Courts) on Main Street, Georgetown on April 9, 1993.
The police had picked up a suspect and questioned him and also detained a vehicle he sometimes drove, but shortly after, the lack of evidence caused him to be released and the vehicle was returned.
There were doubts during that period that the police had made a thorough effort to solve the murder. Reece’s killing became symbolic of the many unsolved and gruesome murders that followed.
