The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

COMMISSIONER of Police Shanta Knowles said three police officers have been hauled before a police tribunal over the escape of accused murderer D’Angelo Culmer from the Magistrates’ Court Complex, as disciplinary proceedings continue more than a year after he vanished from custody.

Ms Knowles said one officer has already been interdicted, with another expected to face interdiction within days once the tribunal process advances.

Despite the internal action, Culmer remains on the run. Ms Knowles renewed an appeal to the public, stressing that police still need information that could lead to his recapture.

Culmer escaped from the Magistrates’ Court Complex on South Street around 3.30pm on October 2, 2025. Police later confirmed that three officers were under investigation in connection with the breach.

In a report published last November, Ms Knowles warned that anyone harbouring Culmer could face criminal charges. She declined at the time to detail how the escape occurred, citing the ongoing investigation, but said security protocols had been tightened to prevent a repeat.

Police described Culmer as light brown in complexion and last seen wearing a blue T-shirt and light blue jeans. He has a tattoo of lips on his neck and the name “Tiffany” tattooed on his right chest.

Shortly after the escape, Chief Superintendent Anton Rahming, head of the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s Criminal Investigations Department, said police had no information on Culmer’s whereabouts and could not confirm whether any tips had been received or whether he was still on New Providence.

Culmer, 34, was remanded to prison on February 16, 2024, after Senior Magistrate Shaka Serville charged him with murder and two counts of attempted murder. He is accused of killing 39-year-old Rudiska Bethel in a drive-by shooting on Ragged Island Street on January 31, 2024.

Police allege Culmer and accomplices opened fire as Ms Bethel stood outside a bar around 7pm. Carla Bain, 40, and Lorenzo Sands, 36, were also shot and treated in the hospital for wounds to the right leg and right forearm. Ms Bethel died at the scene.

At the time of the alleged killing, Culmer was already on bail for attempted murder.

His escape now ranks among the longest periods an escaped prisoner has remained at large in recent years. In a similar case in September 2022, a 25-year-old man who fled from the same court complex was recaptured within two days after a police manhunt.