Police on Tuesday defended their failure to detect gun-powder residue on the hands of late Assistant Superintendent, Ivelaw Murray.

Investigators have positively stated that he committed suicide after killing a constable at the Springlands Police Station but Murray's relatives have raised doubts about whether he had in fact commited suicide or was killed.

However, police have not  refuted reports that Murray might have shot himself twice. Investigators said that his body sustained a gunshot wound below the chin and that he died due to shock and hemorrhage with laceration to the brain due to gunshot injury.

Police said Murray shot constable Kevin Shepherd on July 4 at Springlands, Corentyne before turning the force's firearm on himself.

Spokesman, Ivelaw Whittaker said the handwriting expert has confirmed the handwriting on the note found in his bedroom on the day of the incident as that of Murray’s. The note which was written on a note-pad stated, according to the police force,  “Sorry Mom. I love you and will always will”.

Police explained that no trace of gunpowder residue on the hands of the Murray because the presence of a significant amount of blood on each of the swabs used on the hands of Murray made it unlikely that traces of gunpowder residue could have been detected.

 "Additionally, there is no guarantee that detectable quantities of gunpowder residue will be deposited on the hands each time a firearm is discharged," said the force in a statement

In testing for gunpowder residue the Police Forensic Laboratory utilizes a combination of chemical tests and the recently acquired laser induced breakdown spectroscopy.

Police Commissioner, Henry Greene is on record as saying that Murray and Shepherd had enjoyed a "close relationship".