Last Updated on Monday, 12 May 2025, 18:35 by Writer
President Irfaan Ali on Monday virtually ruled out asking for more foreign investigators to probe the death of 11-year-old Adriana Younge whose body was found in a hotel pool on April 24.
“I’ve already done what I had to do,” he told reporters shortly after addressing the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police at the opening of their annual general meeting at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal.
He said the post-mortem on Younge’s body was conducted by foreign independent forensic pathologists and retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) homicide investigator, Leonard McCoshen has been hired to assist Guyanese police investigators.
He said the matter was now being politicised.
“Everything I committed to in the case.. I’ve done what I said I would have done. The political handlers are now at work aggressively. Let the political handlers deal with what they want,” he said.
United States Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) could provide investigators at the request of the Guyana government.
“They would determine, based on their capacity and their resources if they’re able to assist,” she said.
Regarding a protest outside the American Embassy about which there were social media promotional posts, she had no problem with such an activity.
“The protest: It’s part of free speech and, as long as it’s a peaceful protest, we’re more than happy to hear the demands of the protesters,” she said.
Noting that the FBI had conducted a “very, very thorough investigation” after the Mahdia dormitory fire, the US Ambassador said her government would be willing to consider that request.
“We are happy to accept that request if that is what the government wishes to do,” she said.
Head of the Criminal Investigations Department, Deputy Police Commissioner Wendell Blanhum told reporters that Mr McCoshen is due in Guyana Monday night.
He said the local investigators were gathering evidence and would examine them against various theories before seeking assistance from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for her legal opinion.
“The investigators, they were instructed not to disregard any evidence whatsoever so after the evidence gatherings stage, what they are going to do is to evaluate and examine the evidence against some competing theories and possibilities,” Mr Blanhum, a lawyer by profession, told reporters.
The Head of the Criminal Investigations Department said statements had already been taken from a “substantial” number of persons and two others who were at the pool when Younge went missing would be interviewed on Monday.
He said videos and still pictures would be considered by forensic investigators.
Mr Blanhum could not say whether it was on the same or next day after the discovery of the girl’s body that a sample of water taken from the Double Day Hotel pool, Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo.
The post-mortem showed that Younge died from drowning.
Samples of the water and specimens from her body have been dispatched to the United States for testing, officials had said.
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