By FRANCIS JOSEPH
More than 12 years after a man was kidnapped and burnt to death, two former police officers have been charged with that murder.
The two former police officers were arrested on August 30 and later charged with the murder of a man which occurred in 2014.
There was a report of a kidnapping on March 20, 2014 in which Davindra Siewdass was snatched. Around 7 am on March 23, 2014, a party of officers under the supervision of ASP Samaroo, acting on information received relative to the kidnapping, went to Martiste Trace off Nagee Road, New Grant, Princes Town, where a search was conducted. Approximately 345 feet from the said premises, police officers found burnt debris in a busy area.
Three persons were charged three days later with killing Siewdass.
As far as relatives of the dead man was concerned, the case went cold. But the police resurrected the cold case.
On September 4, an audience was held with the Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Anju Bhola, and based on advice received, the suspects, Lyndon Brown, 40, from Munroe Road, Cunupia, and Jesse Burke, 40, from Waterloo, Carapichaima, were formally charged with the offence of murder of Siewdass, aged 29.
Brown and Burke appeared before Master Margaret Sookraj Goswami at the South Criminal Court B on Monday where the matter was adjourned to April 7, 2027 for a status hearing. A sufficiency hearing is scheduled for April 21, 2027.
Siewdass, the son of a businessman, was last seen on the evening of March 20, 2014, when he left his home driving a black Nissan Libero.
The vehicle was recovered, abandoned in Forres Park, Claxton Bay, the following day. A ransom of $2 million was demanded.
Officers conducted a foot and aerial search in Hindustan and Siewdasss remains were found beneath a burning heap of tyres, about 450 feet from a house.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) testing, returned to Trinidad from a United Kingdom laboratory, confirmed the remains were those of Siewdass.
