“We strangled him since Wednesday night”-Suspects

The worst fears of the mother, father and other relatives and friends of 17-year old Dhanraj Latchman were confirmed at about 20:00 hrs last evening after his discoloured body was discovered in slush miles down the Parika Backdam, East Bank Essequibo.The Guyana Chronicle was reliably informed that the two suspects who are cousins have confessed that they strangled the young man to death on Wednesday night and dumped him. Earlier yesterday the police found the keys to the teen’s car and his cell phone in a home the suspects share.
The two suspects last evening escorted investigators to the area where they dumped the teen’s body after murdering him.

The two men reportedly told investigators that they were forced to strangle the teen after their bid to sell his car failed. They said that they had no other option since they had already told him that they were going to collect money and the fact that the car was not sold and they had no money, the only option was to kill the young man.
They reportedly drove to the backlands of Parika and murdered the young man and then drove the car back to a location along the backdam which is closer to the public road where they caught public transportation and made their way back to the East Coast of Demerara.
The police were last evening trying to confront the man whom the duo arranged with to sell the car. The man, this publication was told, refused to purchase the vehicle after he realised that the men may have stolen the vehicle.
The two were last seen in the teen’s white Toyota 212 PNN 9823.
The police in ‘C’ Division, East Coast Demerara are leading the investigation along with collaboration from the police in ‘D’ Division. ‘C’ Division Commander Assistant Commissioner of Police, Christopher Griffith had earlier told the Guyana Chronicle that they are likely to seek an extension of 72 hours from the High Court for the men to remain in custody.
The intention was based on the added evidence gathered by the police who have been working very hard to locate the teenager. His car was discovered in Parika Backdam on Thursday afternoon.
The two men in custody, who are cousins, did tell investigators that they hired their friend to take them to Parika but returned later that evening. However, the police arrested them after they both gave conflicting reports about what transpired during the period they were with the man.
The police even intensified their interrogation of the two when the man’s car was found in Parika, after the suspects had related that they returned to the East Coast with him.
Yesterday residents of the Lusignan community told the Chronicle, that the two suspects are part of a wider carjacking ring which operates mostly on the West Coast and West Bank of Demerara. This publication was also informed that there is an underground facility in West Demerara where the carjackers would usually seclude their victims’ vehicles and strip them before selling the parts.
One man related that they have long heard of the men being involved in such fishy transactions but never thought it to be true since no evidence ever surfaced to connect them to the disappearance of any vehicle. However, the latest incident involving their own friend has caused villagers to have a different view.
Contacted yesterday, the mother of the missing man said that she was visited by the father of one of the suspects and he expressed his total shock that his son was being implicated in such an act. She said that the man, however, told her that if his son is indeed responsible for the disappearance of the 17- year old, he has no intension of running to fight the course of justice since the actions of his son is wrong.
The woman said that all she asked the man to do was to visit the Vigilance Police Station and ask his son what he did with her son.
This publication was informed that during the interrogation of the two suspects, one of them continuously cried while the other kept a smirk on his face and appeared unmoved by the questioning and the trouble that he is in.
Yesterday the police confirmed that they were not able to arrest anyone else in connection with the disappearance of the teen. However, the cops are said to be looking for another man whom the two suspects claimed they visited on Wednesday to collect some money from. They said that the man lives in Parika.
After relatives stumbled on the car the teenager was driving when he was last seen with the two men, they returned later that night with flood lights and a truck load of friends and family where they began a search of most parts of Parika but came up empty handed when the search was called off at 02:00 hrs.
The suspects had told investigators that when they were returning from Parika on Wednesday night, the teenager picked up two other men who claimed that they were going to Enmore on the East Coast.
The suspects claimed that when the car reached Lusignan public road they disembarked and the now missing man proceeded east along the East Coast Demerara to Enmore to drop off the men.
The police said even if they wanted to buy that story, they threw it out the window when the car minus the teen was discovered in Parika.

(By Leroy Smith )