Police still drawing blank on Sophia vigilante killing

Police have not been able to make any progress in their investigations into the May 8 beating to death of Nigel Lowe in Sophia but according to a senior police official at some point someone will reveal information that could lead to arrests and charges.

A senior police official told this newspaper yesterday that since the release of three persons police have not made any more arrests. It was explained that persons in the area where the beating occurred and where the man later ended up are still tightlipped.

Nigel Lowe
Nigel Lowe

The official expressed confidence that “at some point someone will break”.
Meanwhile, Lowe’s mother Jenny told Stabroek News that she hasn’t gotten any positive information from the police. She recalled that she visited the Turkeyen Police Station recently and all that one of the ranks was able to tell her was that the trio is on station bail and have to report to the station on a regular basis.

She said that based on what the rank told her “it seem like I have to get names”. She questioned how she could possibly do that when residents claim they didn’t hear or see anything prior to the discovery of Lowe’s lifeless body which was tied to a tree in `B’ Field, Sophia.

She said that she is hearing all kinds of stories. Jenny added that she is putting her trust in God to see her through this situation.

Based on what this newspaper was told a mob of about 30 residents attacked Lowe who they accused of attempting to break into a house located in the area. It is alleged that he was with two other men who managed to flee the scene.

Lowe was cornered in an outdoor latrine located in the yard where Lowe mother’s tenants lived. The tenants – a man and a woman were among four persons who were arrested.

Stabroek News was told that the man attempted to escape the residents who by then had surrounded him and were beating him with cutlasses and sticks. He ended up in the house located in the yard and the assault continued there. The man was then taken to ‘B’ Field, Sophia where the beating continued. This newspaper had been told that around 2 am, Lowe’s lifeless body was tied to a utility pole and then covered with pieces of wood. The residents had apparently intended to burn the body but for some reason decided not to.