Less than 24-hours after police launched a land, sea and air manhunt for the killers of teenager Darian Nedd, two more suspects have been arrested.
The brothers — a 19-year-old construction worker and a 22-year-old labourer — were nabbed on Sunday night. The suspects of South Oropouche were kept in separate locations yesterday as homicide officers quizzed them for hours in connection with the crime.
A third suspect, aged 25, who was arrested shortly after Nedd’s body was found, also remained in police custody.
Up to press time yesterday, Nedd’s mother, Christine, who works as an oyster vendor, was still awaiting an autopsy on her son’s remains. Christine said she could not sleep as she was haunted by the thoughts of her son being dismembered and burnt inside their home at Red Brick Trace, South Oropouche.
“Every time I close my eyes I see his face. Right now we up in Port-of-Spain waiting for them to do the autopsy. Nothing that they do will bring back my son,” she said.
Christine and her family have been living in fear since last September after her son witnessed a crime. Death threats were made and Christine said she begged the police to save her son.
When the police failed to offer help, the teenager fled. He returned home last week to go to school. On Saturday around midnight, the 14-year-old boy was chopped.
The killers burnt down the family’s home. When the body was found Nedd’s right foot and left hand were missing.
Police said yesterday they were still doing investigations. Once the case is closed, a report will be submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions who will determine whether charges will be laid.
Griffith: NOC must be used
Meanwhile, former National Security Minister Gary Griffith said a more professional approach has to be taken to protect witnesses and police informants.
“We must ensure that citizens can pass on information on to the Police Service without fear of reprisals. Before we had a network where the E999 Rapid Response was working with the National Operations Centre (NOC) but this has fallen flat.
“We need to have the system reignited like what we saw two years ago as these systems are critical to detering criminals and reducing the fear that the public has,” Griffith said.
He added the NOC was the catalyst which made 2014 the year with the lowest crime. “If we do not set back up this system, we will revert back to the days when the public suffered because of manpower shortages and no patrol vehicles,” Griffith added.
He said he had made several attempts to meet with National Security Minister Edmund Dillon to share information on crime fighting but he never got a response.
Efforts to contact Dillon for comment yesterday proved futile as calls to his cellphone went unanswered.