DNA test confirms remains of British teen found in shallow grave

Last Updated on Friday, 15 April 2016, 7:31 by Denis Chabrol

Less than one week after three co-conspirators in the murder of a British teenager were granted bail, DNA tests show that the decomposed remains found in a shallow grave aback an East Berbice village were those of the lad.

Head of the Criminal Investigations Department, Wendell Blanhum told Demerara Waves Online News that specimens taken from the remains and the teenager’s father were tested positive.

“The results have confirmed that the human remains found at Nurney Village, Berbice are those of Dominic Bernard,” he told Demerara Waves Online News.

He said the results were obtained Thursday, April 14, 2016 from the Trinidad and Tobago Forensic Laboratory by a forensic officer of the Guyana Police Force.

Return of the DNA results followed the High Court granted bail to three of the five persons accused of Bernard’s murder shortly after his arrival on October 14, 2015 from Britain. The rotten remains of the lad, who was described as a promising film-maker, were found in a shallow grave on January 8, 2016.

The five were charged with Bernard’s murder on February 1, 2016.

High Court Judge, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry granted GYD$300,000 bail each to 20-year-old Krystal Thomas, Sisanie Henry, 39, and 18-year-old Jahmil Sinclair.

Bernard’s god-brother, Aaron Hing, and Stayman George remain in custody pending the outcome of a preliminary inquiry to determine whether they should be trialed by a judge and jury.