DNA testing has confirmed the skeletal remains found at Madewini to be those of missing 26-year-old police constable, Quincy Lewis, a Guyana Police Force statement announced today.
On April 19, a team of forensic investigators from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters was dispatched to an abandoned sandpit at Madewini on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway, where human skeletal remains believed to be those of Lewis were recovered.
The bones were later examined by a forensic pathologist and confirmed to be those of a male of African ancestry between the ages of 21 and 40 with an estimated height of 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 11 inches tall.
However, as a result of the advanced state of decomposition of the remains, the process of positive identification was not possible without DNA testing.
To enable this process, samples were obtained from close relatives of the deceased and sent overseas for testing. According to the release, when the DNA testing was completed, the results confirmed that the remains were those of Lewis.
Two men were remanded to prison on April 24 by Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court via Zoom for the murder of Lewis. At the same time, the magistrate issued arrest warrants for a couple. The prosecutor also informed the court that the investigation is ongoing.
The two men remanded over the murder were identified by police as 25-year-old Shafeek Vernon called ‘Profit’, 25, of Lot 1 Ogle, East Coast Demerara, and Jamel Van Lewis, 35, of Lot 29 D’Urban Street, Georgetown. The case was adjourned to May 2
Lewis was reported missing in June 2020 when he left his La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara home for work.
On April 20, the police issued a bulletin for a couple who had apparently fled the jurisdiction. Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum had said that all avenues will be pursued to extradite the couple to face charges here.
The hunt for the couple was enjoined by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) which issued a red notice for the duo.
Thakurdial Samaroo, 57, of Industry, East Coast Demerara, and Naqeeba Zahid, 34, of East Coast Demerara, are both wanted in connection with the murder of Constable Lewis.