Police seek legal advice in death of 12-year-old girl

– 16-year-old uncle remains in custody

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum has confirmed that investigators have approached the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice on the death of 12-year-old Amanda Smith of Aishalton, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
In the meantime, the victim’s 16-year-old uncle who confessed to killing her remains in custody.

It was reported that the victim’s parents had left her in the care of her siblings on the evening of April 22 to attend a function. Upon their return, however, they discovered their daughter’s lifeless and battered body a short distance from their home.
The uncle, who lived nearby, was subsequently taken into custody after he confessed that he went to the victim’s house and as the young girl was heading towards the door to urinate, he stretched out his foot, thus causing her to trip.
As a result, she reportedly hit her head against a nearby wall and became unconscious.
The teenager claimed that after panicking, he picked her up and took her to the back of the yard soon after which, he heard the victim’s brother calling out to her.
In fear, he fled the scene by sneaking out through a door that was left open by the child’s older brother while he used an outside washroom.
Following the child’s death, an autopsy revealed that the child was strangled to death coupled with blunt trauma to the head and face.