THE shooting of the then CLICO Judicial Manager/Commissioner of Insurance, Maria van Beek has remained a cold case even after four years.

Police yesterday reported that since the prime suspect in the crime was shot and killed in Robb Street some time ago, nothing new has come up.

Sleuths said after that person of interest was identified, they had been hunting him but never got to question him due to his death so the case came to a standstill.

Van Beek was driving along Lombard Street in Georgetown on her way to work on April 16, 2009 and had slowed down, owing to the traffic congestion, when a lone gunman came up and shot her through the driver’s side of her vehicle, a police release had stated.

According to information, the bullet struck van Beek to her chest and then the shooter escaped on a waiting ‘CG’ motorcycle ridden by an accomplice.

The police said they were alerted and patrols dispatched to the scene while roadblocks were set up and several searches carried out in efforts to locate the two suspects but to no avail.

Police then reported that they were treating the shooting as attempted murder, because no attempt was made to rob van Beek. The attacker just walked up to van Beek’s car and fired once before escaping.

HEAVY DOWNPOUR
At the time, there was a heavy downpour at about 08:15 hrs but later a truck driver, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that van Beek’s car had slammed into the back of his vehicle after she was injured.

The man said the traffic was moving at a snail’s pace when he saw two men cut across in front of his truck and head south on Lombard Street. It was shortly after that he heard what sounded like a gunshot.

He said he heard the sound and concluded it could not be a tyre blowout. When he looked in his rear view mirror, he saw the woman clutching her chest and then he felt an impact as her car collided with the rear of his truck.

Meanwhile someone close to the family, who declined to be named, told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday that since the incident van Beek fled Guyana in fear for her life. She is trying now to get along with life.

When asked whether she would return here the relative said, “Maybe if they tell her who did it and who paid.”

The source criticised the police for appearing to show little interest in further investigations.