THE Coroner’s Orders, which were prepared by the Guyana Police Force for submission to a pathologist, did not state that the Lindo Creek victims had been burnt, but rather that they sustained ‘gunshot injuries,’ the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) heard when Detective (Ret’d) Carl Jacobs took the stand on Tuesday.

Jacobs, who served in the Guyana Police Force for 25 years before retiring in 2012, had prepared the Coroner’s Orders while stationed in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the ‘E’ and ‘F’ Division Headquarters at Eve Leary, Georgetown. The ‘E’ and ‘F’ Division was responsible for interior locations and Linden, Region 10.

Before a packed chamber at the Department of the Public Service on day two of the public hearings, Detective (Ret’d) Jacobs told the Chairman of the Commission, Justice (Retired) Donald Trotman, that the orders he had compiled on June 25, 2008, did not state that the eight miners had been burnt. According to him, he was not privy to that information at the time, and as such, wrote that they had sustained gunshot injuries.

Additionally, from his testimony it was clear that the established procedure in preparing a Coroner’s Order was not entirely followed, although he had received specialised training in that area. The order was reportedly prepared approximately four days after the charred remains of the miners were removed from the crime scene – Lindo Creek, Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice, where they were discovered by the camp owner Leonard Arokium on June 21, 2008.

Responding to a series of questions put to him by the commission’s Attorney Patrice Henry, Detective (Ret’d) Jacobs explained that when there is an unnatural or violent death, it is required that a Coroner’s Order be prepared with the view to a post-mortem. “On receipt of a report of a violent or unnatural death after it is confirmed….you contact a relative to have the necessary information in order to prepare the Coroner’s Order, after which the Coroner’s Order will be taken to a Justice of the Peace, where it would be signed after being sworn…that document is then taken to the pathologist,” he explained to the commission, while adding that the document is prepared in triplicate.

Attorney Henry then took Jacobs back to June 25, 2008, at around 15:00hrs, based on a statement he submitted to the commission. “I was in the office, E & F Division, Headquarters, Eve Leary, when then Inspector Pitt returned from the Commander’s office, the commander then was Mr Louis Crawford. On his return, Inspector Pitt gave me certain instructions to prepare Coroner’s Orders for eight miners who were murdered in the interior, Lindo Creek,” Jacobs recalled.

According to him, the orders were prepared, signed by JP Tiwari at the Maraj Building on the corner of King Street, and submitted to the ‘E’ and ‘F’ Division Registry Office.
When the Coroner’s Orders were shown to Jacobs by Attorney Henry, he recognised them by his handwriting and the names of the deceased: Dax Arokium, Cedric Arokium, Compton Speirs, Horace Drakes, Clifton Wong, Bonny Harry and Nigel Torres. However, he did not call Lancelot Lee’s name, because he could not have recognised it fully.

In preparing the documents, the detective named Dr Nehaul Singh as the pathologist, but when questioned whether he had submitted same to Dr Singh, he responded in the negative. In fact, Jacobs could not give any reason or explanation for not submitting the orders to Dr Singh, and said that he was unaware whether Dr Singh had conducted post-mortems on the remains.

Questioned by Attorney Henry on whether he had seen the remains, visited the crime scene or made contact with relatives of the deceased, Jacobs responded in the negative, while maintaining that the orders were prepared on the basis of instructions from the then inspector.

Pressing for more answers, Justice (Ret’d) Trotman asked whether the word ‘murder’ was stated on the documents prepared and Jacobs responded in the negative. Asked whether death certificates usually accompany the Coroner’s Orders, Jacobs said no, but explained that a short report outlining the facts of the matter would normally be attached. But in this case, such was not the case. Justice Trotman also pointed out to Jacobs that the pathologist’s name, to which he had alluded, had been crossed out.

Asked if he recognised the name written above, the retired detective said no. The CoI is investigating the circumstances surrounding the murder of the eight miners on or about June 21, 2008, at Lindo Creek in the Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice region. The findings with recommendations will be compiled and submitted to President David Granger.