This question is for the recently established police task force as a call was made by Dr Keith Mitchell, in his capacity as leader of the New National Party, for foreign assistance in solving crimes here. At a press conference this week he expressed concern about the unsolved crimes in Grenada. Dr Mitchell is suggesting that the government should call on the British Scotland Yard and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to assist with investigations which will lead to bringing those responsible to justice.
Looking at records, there have been cases dating back to the even the 1960s where help was sought from outside. The many seemingly cold cases in recent time, should be of concern to everyone. This newspaper has been following the conversations and posts on social media on the incident where the body of Jonty Robinson was found on BBC Beach; while police investigation continues, to date no one has been arrested. There seems to be a sector in society who will not let that case rest as they hold fast to the idea that he was killed because he was gay. Dr Mitchell who believes that Jonty was killed under strange circumstances, appears to be pointing to the police being tight-lipped to protect some-one, as he indicated that rumours are plastering the ground about who may be involved.
The recently established task force for investigating unsolved homicide cases in Grenada, appeared to have taken off on a sound footing as the taskforce made headway in cases under its mandate. One will remember the two young men who were detained for the 2012 incident in the village of Non Pariel, where Emilio Nelson, a 72-year-old pensioner who returned to Grenada after years of living and working in the United Kingdom, was killed. There was also a matter in Saint David where a man was found guilty of killing his neighbour.
However, the task force headed by experienced Criminal Investigation Department officers, which was good news for the nation, seems to be coming up against some real stumbling blocks. Whatever it is in their way, too many crimes are still unsolved. It’s a real mystery how people can simply vanish without trace such as a woman lovingly called Cousin Rhoda at Munich, Ms Mungo at Mardi Gras, an elderly man who lived at the Catholic home for senior citizens in Saint Patrick and more recently Mr Mark from Belmont, Saint George. Then there are the killings – situations where people are found dead and no-one was charged to date. While someone was picked up for the Shaniel Blackman case, he was later released on a not guilty count so that case is still unsolved. Another case in the 1990s someone recently reminded the nation about via a radio call-in programme, is the death of two young men who were known as Big Brother and Little Brother who seemed to have had some form of mental disorder, they used to be popular figures in Saint George’s. Both were killed as a result of vehicular accidents at different times and locations; the caller reminded us that to date no one was held responsible for their deaths.
Mr Lazarus, a resident of The Cocoa in Tempe, was found dead at his home in a suspicious way; the police revealed that the partly decomposed body was sitting on a chair, and they recognised a wound at the top of his head; was anyone arrested for that incident? With a similar wound at the top of his head the body of Jimmy Alwyn Fraser of Coast Guard who was a teacher at St Mark’s Secondary School, was found in his land where he went to check on a fire he had set to burn bushes. After failing to return home, he was found dead by relatives just days before his wedding. At first the police seemed to be of the opinion that he died by natural causes; but the relatives who felt that he was killed, was constant in their call for the police to reopen the case since the wound at the top of his head looked suspicious. While that promise was made by the police, to date no one was arrested in connection; and let’s not forget the unsolved mystery surrounding the death of Coleman Redhead of Gens Anglais.
Another area of concern is that in a tiny island like Carriacou, how can a man be shot to death in broad daylight and the perpetuator disappears like ice in a summer sun? Some years before that incident, wasn’t a foreign investor killed at his home also in Carriacou? Was anyone made culpable even after seeing evidence of forced entry into the building where he lived? A teacher who was apparently chopped to death at his home was buried this week and his funeral was so sad that it brought out the tears from many people as they watched the school children cry. The police force, Dr Mitchell said, is fundamental to our democracy as he condemns what he sees as political interference by the new government. He is of the opinion that the RGPF has been destroyed and its leadership has been dealt a serious blow, negatively so, by NDC as he points to crime including murders which appear to be unsolved and is worrying since that can tarnish the image of the country.
Well there are still those of us who have faith in our police; it’s just a matter of time for breakthrough. Those unsolved mysteries will be solved.
