A decomposed body suspected to be that of 50-year-old Reonol Williams, who was involved in an accident at Enmore, East Coast Demerara (ECD) some two weeks ago, was found in a trench at Coldingen, ECD, on Tuesday.
Dead: Reonol Williams
Following the accident, the driver of the motor car involved had picked up the injured man to take him to the hospital but this was never done. Instead, Williams disappeared without a trace. His family had reported the man’s disappearance to the Police and an investigation was launched.
The owner of the car was reportedly arrested but after interrogation, he claimed that he was in the interior and that one of his nephews had taken the car without his knowledge. However, after almost two weeks and no signs of Williams, the family requested an audience with Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken.
After the meeting, the Major Crimes Unit attached to the Guyana Police Force was instructed to take up the case. As such, the owner of the car involved in the accident was rearrested. On Tuesday, the car’s owner, during interrogation took detectives to the location along the Coldingen access road where the body was discovered during a search.
Suspect: Daniel Melbourne
When contacted, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum confirmed that a body was found in the bushes but noted that due to the state of the body, a DNA test will have to be done to ascertain whether or not the body is that of Williams.
Nevertheless, he stated that Williams’ sister identified the body to be that of her brother based on the clothes on the remains found. She told detectives that her brother was wearing the same clothes when he went missing on May 23.
Further, Blanhum reported that the suspect subsequently confessed that he was the driver of the motor car at the time of the accident. He reportedly admitted that after he struck down Williams, he placed him in his vehicle and as he was driving, he observed that Williams was motionless. Out of fear, he further admitted that he stopped the car at a bridge in Coldingen, ECD, and disposed of the body in the trench.
Police cordoning off the crime scene on Tuesday
After doing this, he told detectives that he went home and informed his mother that his vehicle was missing and that he had made a report to the Police. Further, he also admitted that the initial information he provided to the Police about him being in the interior was false.
It was reported that Williams was struck down along the East Coast of Demerara by a red Toyota fielder wagon during the wee hours of May 23. A friend of Williams, who witnessed the accident, had gone to inform his family that the injured man was taken to the hospital. After checking several hospitals – both public and private – the man was not found.
On Tuesday, prior to the discovery of the body, Deputy Commissioner Ravindradat Budhram told reporters that the case was initially being investigated as a vehicular accident but now, the nature of the probe has changed.
