SEVENTEEN-year-old Dhanraj Latchman of 115 Lusignan, East Coast Demerara lost his life in the Parika Backdam, East Bank Essequibo, because two cousins, who had been friends of the teen – one of them had even attended school with him – had been planning his kidnap and murder for two weeks prior to his death, and had already found a buyer for his car.

Speaking with a source who has been very close to the investigation, this newspaper was made to understand that the cousins told the police of a detailed plan they had hatched to wipe out the teen so they can have his car. This they did after the police had promised them, should they speak the truth, that they would be allowed to go home because the mother of the slain teen wanted no story.

The suspects reportedly told the police that after they had choked the teenager until he blacked out,
one of them attempted to slit his throat with a knife after they realised that he was still breathing, but the other, a mason, decided against spilling the victim’s blood.

Instead, they cut the car’s seatbelt with the knife, and put the seatbelt around his neck. Then, using a piece of wood to turn the seatbelt, they tightened it around his neck until they had strangled him. The wood was later discovered in the car, which was found the following day.

They then drove further down the Parika Backdam and ‘four-handed’ the lifeless body of the teen into a clump of bushes, before making their way out of the area in his vehicle.

The men had lured Latchman and his vehicle to Parika with a story that they were heading to Parika to uplift some money. But as they were exiting Good Hope village, ECD, they had encountered Latchman’s uncle, and one of them had used the jersey he was wearing to conceal his face when they exited the car, instructing Latchman to pick them up at another location. They had re-boarded the vehicle, and the party had proceeded to Parika.

During the journey, Latchman had received several calls from his mother and father, cautioning him to take his time on the roadway since the distance was a far one.
Reportedly, during those calls, the young man had given his parents the names of the two persons he was transporting to Parika.

At Parika, they had met with one Robin who has a body-work shop in the area. Robin was the person from whom they had expected to collect the money — payment for Latchman’s car, which the two showed up to sell Robin.

While the suspects were in negotiation with Robin in his yard, Latchman was seated in his vehicle. They subsequently joined him, sitting on the car’s bonnet drinking a few beers and apparently quietly considering how they would get rid of the unsuspecting teen.

Reportedly, when Robin enquired about the driver of the car, since it was the first time he was seeing him, the cousins told him that the driver of the car was in fact the owner of the car.

The man then immediately declined to purchase the car, since he was not sure how the vehicle could be sold with its owner being present. He was not then aware that the cousins had already worked that out.

The cousins then left with Latchman, and murdered him by strangulation before returning to Robin, who then reportedly questioned them about Latchman’s whereabouts. “We finish he off,” they reportedly told Robin.

For clarification, Robin reportedly asked the men what they meant, and they informed him that they had killed the teenager and taken the car.

Robin then again told them that he was no longer interested in purchasing the car, and that they should leave.

The two then returned to the Parika Backdam with the car, which they parked and immediately began searching for another market for the vehicle. They used their victim’s cellphone to hold a 45-minute conversation with someone on the Corentyne Coast concerning purchase of the car, before returning to the East Coast Demerara via public transportation and going to a Third Street, Lusignan residence where one of the men lived with his parents.

When Latchman’s relatives could no longer contact him, they decided to visit the home of the teen last seen in the car with him, along with the other suspect. They also took police to the home.

However, when the men were questioned, they gave conflicting statements, which caused the police to keep them in custody. One of their statements was that they had travelled back to the East Coast Demerara with Latchman, but on the way he had picked up two other persons, who had requested to be taken to Enmore.
They told investigators that they disembarked at the Lusignan main road and Latchman had proceeded with the other two men to Enmore.

While family members were a bit apprehensive, they became even more convinced that the two had something to do with the teen’s disappearance when his car was discovered at Parika Backdam.

In making their confession on Friday, the suspect who lives at Third Street, Lusignan admitted to committing the deed; and among other things, he told investigators that the keys and the cell phones of the victim were hidden at his home.

When the police took the man to the home and searched it, they came up empty-handed, and began questioning his parents. Then his father admitted that he saw the items and knew they were those of the missing teenager, and to prevent his son from being positively fingered in the crime, he had decided to hide the items in another place.

He was promptly arrested, and has a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice hanging over his head.

The police were very concerned that the two cousins had told Robin that they had bumped off the teenager and he had not informed the police. They were also concerned that Robin did not report the crime because he was concerned that his own nefarious operation of habitually purchasing stolen vehicles from questionable characters would be uncovered.

According to information received, Robin has several persons bringing cars for him to purchase, and he does so without questioning them to find out how the cars were obtained, even though those who bring him vehicles are never the owners of those vehicles. From all reports this particular case went sour because a life was taken in the process.

On Friday evening, the two cousins took the police to where they had dumped the body of their one-time friend, whom they murdered for his car. They had the charge of murder read to them by the police, and they are shortly to appear in court to answer to the charges.

The late Dhanraj Latchman leaves to mourn his parents, one younger brother, and other grieving relatives and friends.
Written By Leroy Smith