– women’s rights activist pledges organisation’s support for police

ALTHOUGH police recently charged a man who allegedly confessed to the murder of his former lover, Shawnette Savory, her remains are yet to be found as investigators narrow in on the spot she may have been buried in Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
This was disclosed by Crime Chief Paul Williams who hosted a joint-press conference Monday with women’s rights activist and founder of Let The Woman Speak (LTWS), Dianne Madray at the Officers’ Training Centre, Camp Road and Young Street, Eve-Leary, Georgetown.

Devindra Ramdiah, called “Duck man,” 34, of Prospect, EBD was Thursday last charged for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, 37-year-old Shawnette Savory on August 30, 2016, at Soesdyke, EBD.

The Crime Chief noted that the weather has dampened investigations as detectives seek to recover the body and apprehend other suspects who might be able to assist with the investigations.

The Guyana Police Force in 2017 had issued a wanted bulletin for Patrick Banister, called “Fato” and his wife, Ritesha Rahaman called “Tesha.” Savory and Rahaman were friends and she was seen with the couple just before she went missing on August 30, last.
The Crime Chief said these suspects are still wanted for questioning by investigators.
Williams said a number of other cold cases are being examined and will be examined under the new Cold Case Unit.

It was revealed that after the cold case was brought up recently, the Major Crimes Unit within two weeks arrested the suspect who confessed to the dastardly act.
In that confession, the suspect listed a number of places where he said the body was buried. As such, investigators are continuing their search even after the man was charged for the murder and remanded to prison.

Crime Chief Paul Williams described the case as being solved but shun away from questions about having enough evidence to charge the accused, since the body was not found. He noted that legal advice was sought before any charge was laid.
The mother of the deceased, Dhanrajie Murray who lives overseas, in tears said “I want them to find her body,” as she disclosed that the man accused of killing her daughter had begged her for forgiveness before he was remanded to prison.
Murray said that she is seeking closure and is unaware what may have triggered the murder of her daughter who had two children.

Adding that the issue of domestic violence leads to murders and it must be seriously addressed in Guyana, Madray recommended that police ranks receive sensitivity training since there is a lack of understanding of the grave consequences that domestic violence has in society.

She offered the help of her organisation and resources in aiding in such a task.
“Women need to feel safe and not intimidated by officers when taking a statement or reporting a domestic violence matter. As an advocate I have personally experience the attitudes that many women complain about, but I press on and refuse to accept that change cannot occur,” she said.

The advocate said that police ranks must remember that domestic violence is a crime punishable by law and there are no exceptions if a perpetrator happens to be your friend, brother, associate or the family member of some politician.

In order to improve the state of affairs of the police force and to raise the level of expertise and efficiency, Madray recommended that a policy to be implemented for mandatory ongoing training as indicated above.

Secondly, she said a full computerised system is needed to allow ranks to write their investigative reports within a centralised database. Thirdly, a tracking system of victims’ information and data on cases is also needed.

Fourthly, Madray noted that systems should be put in place in order to avoid losing vital information on cases, hand written files disappearing and prevent data tampering with important evidence, while there should also be easy access to past records for analyses.
“This support and partnership with agencies such as CID and DPP is important with networking groups like LTWS. The members of our group have skills that we can lend to CID and I appreciate the respect I was provided by Mr. Williams and his team during the Savory’s investigation. This partnership and collaboration [have] shown me that these are men who will not succumb to the inflated egos as some others I have encountered,” Madray said.

Savory is just one of several people who police believe were murdered and their corpses buried. With the establishment of a Cold Case Unit, which is likely to renew interest in such cases, there is need for the Force to be equipped with the tools and a computerised database for ranks to speed up their investigations.