– family accuses Police of slothfulness in investigation
By La’Wanda McAllister
Close to one month after the fire at Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara, which claimed the lives of Beverly Miller, Martin Lewis and their son Dawall Ifill, family members remain devastated, especially 17-year-old Alani Ifill.
The apartment building on fire on June 27
The teen is the son of the late Miller and Lewis and brother of Dawall. He is now left to deal with the constant nightmares. It was a narrow escape for the teen, who was not at home on the day of the fatal fire.
Speaking with Guyana Times, his aunt, Desiree Miller, related that the teenager is struggling to accept the brutal and painful reality of his family’s death. For Alani, it is like worlds and aeons since June 27.
“We are trying to cope with him because since then he is having difficulty to sleep, he would wake up in the nights and just down. Most times he would be sulk up and alone. He would just sit there and not say anything. When we ask him if everything is ok, and if anything is bothering him, he would just say yes and that is it. He would get nightmares…”, she explained.
The family believes that the teen still needs time to come to terms with the awful reality. However, since the passing of their family members, Desiree said it has been a struggle for the entire family, not just emotionally, but financially.
“Me and my sister would take care of him [Alani]… it’s been hard for us since we lost everything, we do try to see whatever little we have to survive. We living together for now… right now we are not renting, we are staying by my sister for now; because them boys say we not going back in no renting house”, she added.
The relatives, however, did not mention any future intention to have the young man counselled in an effort bring him to reality.
Pandemonium broke out on June 27 after an apartment building went up in flames. At the time of the fire, no one suspected that anyone was trapped in the building which housed several apartments.
It was after inquiring if everyone was safe that relatives began looking for Miller, Lewis and their teenage son. Sometime after, firefighters were able to recover the charred remains of the trio. The mother and father were clung together while the remains of Ifill were found a short distance away.
Meanwhile, moments after the fire, the grandson to the landlord was arrested, after he was seen leaving the premises moments before the fire started. However, after two weeks, the man was released.
It is believed by the family that the suspect might have started the fire since the property in which they lived was the source of a dispute between the dead owner’s son, and the landlord’s grandson for a few years.
However, this has not been confirmed, since ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) are still investigating.
In addition, Corretta Woolford, sister of the dead man, related that she is disappointed with the slothfulness of the investigation conducted by the police.
She added that since the night of the fire, her family along with the other victims have never heard from the police.
“We never hear back anything from the police since then. After the fire, we went and give a statement on the Tuesday, and the police told us they would make contact with us and they never make any contact with us until this day”
Woolford said it is disturbing for her family since they are seeing the suspect “walking free”.
“He walking the road as free man and three lives gone. I want to know if the three lives that gone is animals. We want to know what is going on with the case. What the Fire Chief says, what caused the fire…three persons died and we can’t know the cause? They driving around…he even stopped me this morning and I walked away because the murderer was in the vehicle”, she said.
The tearful family is demanding justice for the trio, since they believe it will help to put Alani’s minds at ease. They are also seeking the public’s assistance in any way possible to keep them on their feet.
