The Jamaican Force Constabulary has told the Guyana Government that it will provide a full report by the end of this month on the DNA analysis of samples taken from Lindo Creek where eight miners were murdered in June 2008.
Samples had been taken by the Jamaicans since July 2008 and partial results were provided sometime back. Remains from at least one of the eight who died was said to have been linked to the DNA samples taken from personal items and family members.
A statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs today was responding to a report in the Kaieteur News of January 17, 2012 where the cost of the storing of the remains of the Lindo Creek victims and the financial procedures for such were queried.
The statement said in part:
“The Jamaican Force Constabulary submitted a report of a partial analysis that was conducted and they promised to submit the full report by the end of January 2012.
“The remains stored at the Lyken’s Funeral Parlour forms a vital part of the evidence collected. It is usual for remains of deceased persons in murder investigations to be disposed of after a post mortem examination is concluded by handing over the body to relatives of the deceased for funeral.
“In the Lindo Creek case, which is an exceptional one, the remains were not identified and therefore could not have been handed over to anyone nor disposed of by the State due to emotional issues normally associated with relatives of murder victims.
“The result is that apart from the samples taken to Jamaica, the remainder is still stored at the Lyken’s Funeral Parlour at the expense of the State.
“Because of the controversy surrounding the Lindo Creek incident, the Guyana Police Force sought to exercise caution in the storage of the remains of the victims. There was no viable option available at the time to facilitate storage of the remains neither did the Guyana Police Force anticipate that it would have taken a long period of time to obtain the results of the DNA.
“None of the financial regulations was breached and the expenditure was charged to the correct Line Item –‘6294 -Other’ in the current allocation of the Guyana Police Force. This Line item caters for payment of expenses relative to cases of unnatural death where the Guyana Police Force have to intervene, which invariably leads to situations where they have to engage the services of funeral parlours for the transportation and storage of dead bodies prior to the disposal, by way of burial by relatives of the deceased or the State.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs wishes to reiterate that at all times appropriate efforts are made to ensure that money allocated to the Ministry and its Departments is expended in such a manner that value is received for such expenditure.”
The Lindo Creek murders remain unsolved as far as the public is concerned. There had been strong views expressed that corrupt elements of the security forces might have been responsible for the murders in a grab for gold while the police have blamed a gang headed by Rondell `Fineman’ Rawlins. The Lindo Creek killings was one of three mass murders that stunned the country that year. The other two: the Lusignan and Bartica massacres also have question marks around them.
Those killed at Lindo Creek were Dax Arokium, Cecil Arokium, Clifton Wong, Nigel Torres, Compton Speirs, Bonny Harry, Horace Drakes and Lancelot Lee.
