The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

POLICE are investigating the circumstances surrounding the discovery of a man’s partially decomposed body found in bushes in the Cowpen Road area yesterday.

The discovery was made by a group of children playing in a field just off Martin’s Close, reportedly two days after residents reported hearing “several pops” which they dismissed as firecrackers.

Speaking to The Tribune at the scene yesterday, police press liaison officer, Superintendent Shanta Knowles said the discovery was made shortly after noon.

She said injuries to the deceased’s head and neck suggest foul play, and as such, the matter was being investigated as a homicide.

Police suspect the man’s injuries were the result of gun shots, but an autopsy will be done to confirm cause of death.

“We are appealing to anyone that would have seen or heard something here or about what happened here,” she said. “We want to, as quickly as we can, identify who this person is and who is responsible for causing his death.

“The body is presently in a state that we can work with, decomposition has not started to set in and we are hopeful that we can bring this matter to a close quickly by identifying who this victim was and what happened to him here at this location.”

The incident has pushed the country’s death toll to 73 for the year, according to Supt Knowles.

She also said the RBPF remains dedicated to its mission to address violent crimes.

Speaking to current policing schemes, she revealed that the RBPF has scaled back on the number of officers on administrative duties, redeploying many of them to active patrol in the lead up to the holiday season.

“We intend to beef up patrols moving forward,” she told The Tribune.

“That does not mean we have decreased our administrative workload, it simply means we are putting more hands on deck as we pick up our operational efforts. We want our presence to be clear and that is something that you will see in the weeks to come,” she added.