THE Guyana Police Force is looking to institute charges against the father of one of the two young men who confessed to strangling Dhanraj Latchman to death last Wednesday night in the Parika Backdam.
Dhanraj Latchman, who was murdered
Crime Chief Leslie James confirmed last evening that the police are examining the possibility of charging the man for his actions during the course of a police investigation.
After the two cousins confessed to killing their friend, they told investigators that they hid his car keys and cell-phones at a home in Third Street, Lusignan. They also told investigators exactly where in the house the items were hidden.
However, when the police arrived at the house in question, and searched for the items where the men said they were hidden, they were not there. But after intense questioning, the father of one of the men admitted removing the items from where his son had hidden them, and putting them elsewhere.
He then led police to where he’d buried the items outside the house, and was made to retrieve them himself. It transpired that the man had earlier visited the deceased’s home and spoken with his mother, telling her how sorry he was to hear what had happened to her son, and that if his son was indeed involved in the murder, he’d see to it that he faced the full force of the law.
On Saturday, Latchman’s mother, Taramattia Daby, had told the Guyana Chronicle: “But if meh been know that dis man had me car key and meh son two cell phones, it would ah be another day! It would ah be another day! Dem woulda got to carry me and lock me up, because I woulda beat this man so bad what come in this yard and tell me but he na know, and he ah give me he sympathy and he know what happen.”
She made the foregoing comments after learning that the very man was responsible for hiding her son’s belongings, after the boys confessed to murdering him and dumping his body aback Parika.
She’d also said at the time that she was not prepared to take any form of compensation from the two suspects’ relatives for the murder of her son; that she’d rather that they faced the law.
The two suspects, who are close relatives, are being held by the police for the kidnapping and subsequent murder of their friend, 17-year-old Danrag Latchman of 115 Lusignan. The two were last seen in the teen’s white Toyota 212, PMM 9823.
They on Friday told investigators that they were forced to strangle the lad after their bid to sell his car failed. They said they had no other option, since they had already told him that they were going to collect money; and the mere idea that the car was not sold and they had no money, they had no other alternative but to kill him.
They reportedly drove to the Parika backdam where they committed the act, and then drove the car back to a location along the backdam as close as possible to the Public Road, where they caught public transportation and made their way back to the East Coast.
They did tell investigators that they’d hired their friend to take them to Parika, but had returned later that evening. However, the police held on to them after they both gave conflicting reports about what transpired during the period they were with the youngster.
Written By Leroy Smith