THE police in ‘C’ Division have released the five suspects who had been detained for questioning following the murder of 18-year-old Raynelle Benfield last week, a Qualfon Call Centre receptionist.

After the detention period had expired, the police were granted a further extension and when that ended they were forced to release the suspects who were all placed on bail, since there was insufficient evidence to continue holding them.

Police sources have told the Guyana Chronicle that they are in the process of conducting further investigations into the homicide. The body of Benfield was found on Monday last in a cemetery along the Beterverwagting Main Road, East Coast Demerara.

The police reported that the body of Benfield was found with her face smashed. The victim was last seen alive about 18:00hrs on December 9 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 was found with her jeans pulled down almost to her knees and she was still wearing her blouse, while her hands were resting on her stomach near one of the many tombs in the burial ground. The face of the young woman was unrecognisable and it appeared to have been peeled off.

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 the said handbag. The body was found when a passer-by decided to check after experiencing a strong stench emanating from the Muslim Cemetery. After that individual had made the discovery, the police were summoned. They cordoned off the scene and the body was removed.