ONE man is in police custody following the brutal chopping of another man during the early hours of Christmas Day in Anse Ger, Micoud. Forty-five-year-old Aaron Cooper, of Anse Ger, was the victim of this attack. A gruesome gash was inflicted to the back of his neck following an altercation with a known individual. Cooper was conveyed to the St Jude Hospital via ambulance, but succumbed to his injury on Thursday 26th December at about 11:30 p.m. The post mortem examination for the late Aaron Cooper is scheduled for today, 28th December.
Police are also investigating the matter of Nicholas Jn Baptiste of Anse Ger, Desruisseaux, who was fatally shot on Monday 23rd December. George Nicholas, Superintendent of Police with Responsibility for Territorial Policing, said at a press conference on Christmas Eve that the act was perpetrated by a known assailant. Police are in the process of trying to bring this perpetrator into custody.
Meanwhile, Dion Florent of Bexon, Castries, has been charged for attempted murder. On Friday 13th December, Florent inflicted injuries on the body of a male individual with what was reported to be a machete. One of the individual’s hands was severed as a result of the attack. Video footage of the aftermath of this incident has been circulating on social media. Florent is currently on remand until 6th February, 2020.
Concurrently, police are in the process of identifying the decomposed body which was found in Garrand, Babonneau last Thursday. It has been stated by the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) that the body was that of a male believed to be between the age of 20 and 30. Police are asking persons who have reported missing family members to come forward to assist with the investigation.
So far, two sets of samples have been taken from families of missing persons and have been sent to the laboratory for analysis. The Superintendent of Police announced on Tuesday that police were working assiduously to identify the victim.
“We are asking persons who may have members of their families missing to come forward with that information so that we can take the necessary samples so that we can ascertain the identity of that body,” he noted.
Police also said investigations were on-going in relation to the disappearance of 21-year-old Michael Blaze of Vieux Fort who went missing on 24th November immediately after he was released from police custody at the Choiseul Police Station. Blaze was arrested two days prior in relation to a robbery, but was released due to insubstantial evidence, according to police. In relation to this matter, Nicholas stated, “The investigation into the disappearance of Michael Blaze is ongoing and we have followed all the leads that we have had, but we are continuing to pursue that investigation.”
So far, police have not concluded investigations into the death of 34-year-old Shem Sinaise who was found hanging from a washroom window at the Laborie Police Station while in police custody on December 7th. This investigation was expected to be completed two weeks ago. George Nicholas indicated that the Lead Investigator communicated to him on Christmas Eve that there had been some hindrance in the investigation and that it will be completed without delay.
Amidst the number of police investigations which are ongoing at the moment, the RSLPF is convinced that they have made a significant breakthrough in the matter of vehicle thefts which have been reported of late. The breakthrough came as a result of a series of search warrants executed by the Marchand Police on Saturday 21st December. The searches were conducted in the areas of Babonneau and Trois Piton. A number of vehicle parts were recovered from a location in Trois Piton, and one man has been taken into police custody in relation to this recovery.
