– seven suspects being grilled

A post-mortem performed on the body of Qualfon Call Centre receptionist, Raynelle Benfield, on Wednesday revealed that she died as a result of crust injury to the face caused by a blunt object, police said.

Two more persons have since been arrested and are being grilled by sleuths, bringing the total to seven suspects in custody up to press time.

The body of the 18-year-old was found on Monday morning in the Muslim cemetery along Beterverwagting Main Road, East Coast Demerara.

Police reported that the body of Benfield, a telephone receptionist attached to Qualfon Call Centre, was found around 07:00hrs with her face smashed. The victim was last seen alive about 18:00hrs on Saturday last by her colleagues.

Detectives are of the opinion that she was the victim of a heinous crime in which she knew her attacker (s) and was probably held at gunpoint or knifepoint and taken forcefully into the cemetery where she was beaten to the point where her face was smashed in.
The body, with her jeans pulled down almost to her knees and her blouse still on while her hands rested on her stomach, was found near one of the many tombs in the burial ground. Her face was unrecognisable.
Sleuths said a handbag, which relatives said belonged to the teen, was retrieved near the body but her cell phone was not among the items in it. The body was found when a passerby was hit by a strong stench emanating from the cemetery.
After the discovery, the police were summoned and the body removed.