— contend evidence contradicts claims by Attorney Nigel Hughes

THE Guyana Police Force (GPF) has said it notes with serious concern the allegations made by Nigel Hughes, the Attorney-at-Law who is representing Glaston Henry, also called ‘Gladwin,’ that an insufficient investigation was done as it relates to the purported alibi witnesses.
The matter is in relation to the unlawful killing of West Coast of Berbice (WCB) teenager, Haresh Singh, for which four men were charged on Tuesday.
The teen was found dead on September 9, 2020, at the Number Two Village backlands, Region Five (Mahaica – Berbice); this was around the time when persons were protesting and calling for justice for the “Henry boys” who were brutally murdered.
According to information from the Guyana Police Force, the four men charged are 21-year-old Charles ‘Bucko’ Scott of 29 Jarvis Street, Rosignol, Berbice; 27-year-old Joel ‘Bolo’ Gittins of Jangotown, East Coast Demerara; 27-year-old Glaston ‘Soldierman’ Henry, also known as Gladwin and 29-year-old Philip ‘Ratman’ Anderson, both of Number Three Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB).

The body of 17-year-old Singh, also known as ‘Raj’, formerly of Lot 8, Number Three Village, WCB, was discovered with chop wounds by his 12-year-old brother.
On the day he was found, Singh had left his home with his uncles to venture into the backlands to work; however, he returned home by himself to fetch water. His body was later found lying motionless and bleeding from the nose. His motorcycle was also discovered burnt.
An autopsy revealed that the teen died from brain haemorrhage and blunt trauma to the head, compounded by compression injuries to the neck.
Gladston Henry is the brother of Isaiah Henry and the cousin of Joel Henry – the Henry boys whose mutilated bodies were found just three days prior to the murder of Singh.
The GPF, in responding to claims by Hughes during a press conference on Thursday, said it wishes to set the facts straight since it appears that Hughes insists on conducting a trial of this matter in the court of public opinion, although this matter is ‘sub judice.’

REMAIN SILENT
During a video interview conducted on the 26th day of June, 2021 and another video interview conducted on the 27th day of June, 2021 with Glaston Henry, he exercised his right to remain silent on each occasion, the GPF said in a release, noting that at no time whatsoever did the suspect inform the investigators that he had an alibi or that he was elsewhere during the time of the murder. Oddly, the GPF pointed out that it was his attorney who belatedly on the last occasion told an investigator after the said video interview was completed that Glaston Henry was elsewhere and there were witnesses. The attorney did not submit a statement for Glaston Henry, nor put any alibi on record either in an oral or written statement during the video interviews that were conducted, the GPF said. “No alibi witnesses ever presented themselves to the investigators for their statement to be taken. Nothing prevented this from being done. However, pre-prepared statements were later delivered to the investigators at CID Headquarters after 16:00hrs on the 28th day of June, 2021 and investigators immediately commenced probing the alibi statements by making earnest efforts to contact these witnesses. The assistance of senior officers stationed in Region Five was also solicited and they could not locate two of these witnesses, namely, Bibi Shaheman and Claudette Kurtzious at their given addresses,” the release said.

Additionally, details of this purported alibi were also furnished to the investigators via an email correspondence from Mr. Hughes on behalf of Glaston Henry, dated Wednesday 30th June, 2021. The contents of the said email, inter alia, set out the following alibi for Glaston Henry:
“Mr. Gladston Henry, father of our client attended the post-mortem and video recorded it live as it was being conducted. Our client, along with several witnesses were at the home of his parents viewing the live transmission. He remained at the location for the entire day as confirmed by each of the above witnesses.”
The GPF said that perhaps it eluded Hughes’s memory that the entire post-mortem examination of Isaiah Henry and Joel Henry were video recorded by the investigators in his presence. After receiving this email from Hughes, the video recording was reviewed by the investigators assigned to the case to ascertain the veracity of the alibi proffered on behalf of Glaston Henry by his attorney, since he had elected to remain silent, which was his right. According to the GPF, this recording showed that Glaston Henry’s father briefly entered and exited the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home where the post-mortem was being conducted for the sole purpose of identifying the body of his son Isaiah Henry. This is in keeping with the standard operating procedure.

NEVER HOLDING A PHONE
“Glaston Henry’s father was never holding a phone in his hand at the time; he only had a mask and a rag in his hands. Further, when he exited the room, he could be seen standing outside and putting on his mask while holding a rag in the other hand. Glaston Henry’s father never re-entered the room. Therefore, it is impossible for him to have ‘attended the post-mortem examination and video recorded it live as it was being conducted.’ This diametrically opposes what is being peddled as the alibi for Glaston Henry that he was home at the time watching a live video recorded by his father, when his father was never present in the room during the conduct of the post-mortem examination.
“It therefore follows that all nine purported alibi witnesses are currently being sought by the GPF in connection with alleged attempts to pervert the course of justice, since if the father of Glaston Henry never recorded any post-mortem examination live, then clearly they could not have been home watching a live video together with Glaston Henry.

“It should also be noted that these purported alibi witnesses directly contradict other individuals who placed Glaston Henry in the company of the other suspects at Haresh Singh’s home and at the scene of the crime at the material time,” the GPF said. The GPF also noted that at the press conference hosted by Hughes, it was alleged that one of the investigators, that is, Inspector Sarrabo was present in Berbice at the home of the family of Isaiah Henry at the time the post-mortem was being conducted.
However, it said that this contention was also another blatant attempt to mislead and distort the facts in this matter, since Inspector Sarrabo can be seen present during the post-mortem in the recording made by the investigators and also in the background of a ‘Prime News’ video interview that was being conducted with Hughes immediately after the conclusion of the post-mortem examination. “Finally, in light of the above, the GPF wishes to also reiterate that it has discharged its mandate in completing the investigation and sending the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice. The charges were instituted upon the legal advice received from the DPP and therefore, to indicate that this charge is a miscarriage of justice is wholly unmeritorious and can only be viewed as a desperate and deliberate attempt to pervert the course of justice,” the GPF said.