City detectives to assist in Berbice triple murder probe

The police are continuing to work all angles and a number of theories in order to solve last week’s triple murder at Mibicuri, Black Bush Polder and Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum said yesterday that a team from the force’s Major Crimes Unit (MCU) was expected to head to the area to lend assistance in the investigation.

Post-mortem examinations conducted on the victims’ bodies yesterday revealed that Pawan Chandradeo sustained a laceration to his head resulting in a fractured skull and he subsequently died of shock and haemorrhaging. His 15-year-old son Jaikarran Chandradeo and his brother-in-law Naresh Rooplall, 33, also died from shock and haemorrhaging due to gunshot wounds. According to Commander of ‘B’ Division Ian Amsterdam, information suggests that one of the suspects in custody may have had a relationship with Pawan Chandradeo’s wife. According to information gathered, Chandradeo and his wife had separated some time back, but they later reunited and renewed their vows to each other.

Commander of ‘B’ Division Ian Amsterdam (second, right) meeting with Pawan Chandradeo’s wife and children
Commander of ‘B’ Division Ian Amsterdam (second, right) meeting with Pawan Chandradeo’s wife and children

Amsterdam said information reveals that one of the suspects in custody may have invited the trio to go fishing at Kokerite, Mibicuri Creek, knowing that farmers had warned fishermen to desist from fishing at that location. He also disclosed that the same suspect admitted to being with the victims for a certain time and then leaving to go to the koker to escape from the many mosquitoes that were present.

Amsterdam stated that the security guard at the koker has provided an alibi for that suspect, as he confirmed that the man was at the koker when the gunshots were heard. Amsterdam emphasized that at the moment, although most of the persons in custody might have had the opportunity to commit the crime, it was not yet clear if they were guilty of actually pulling the trigger.

Meanwhile, Amsterdam visited the families of the victims yesterday and offered his condolences. He made it clear to the families that the police are working tirelessly to solve the case and bring the perpetrator/s to justice. Chandradeo’s younger son, Alvin, who had accompanied the trio on the fishing trip but was left at the koker, told the Commander yesterday, that during the course of the night, as he waited for his relatives return, the man who had returned to the koker due to mosquitoes, received a phone call in the night and the next morning the man received several more phone calls.

According to a source, investigators are in pursuit of a rice farmer who owns land at Kokerite, Mibicuri and may have been in contact with one of the suspects in custody on the night the crime was committed.

Amsterdam confirmed that a team from MCU was expected to arrive in Berbice today. He stated that ‘B’ Division sleuths had made some headway in the investigation and it was likely that they will make a major breakthrough in the next 24 hours.

Pawan Chandradeo, 37, a rice farmer, and his son Jaikarran of 163 Mibicuri North, Black Bush Polder and his brother-in-law Rooplall of Number 75 Village, Corentyne were found dead less than a day after they left to go on a fishing trip in Black Bush Polder. The three were found with one gunshot wound each at Kokerite Savannah, Mibicuri Creek on Friday last.