By: Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News|
Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Slowe has sharply criticized the Guyana Police Force’s handling of evidence in the ongoing terrorism investigation involving the Venezuelan national accused of carrying out last Sunday’s deadly gas station bombing.
Speaking on the programme Context, Slowe stressed that forensic evidence—not just a confession—will be essential to securing a conviction in such a severe case.
“Something like this requires a lot of forensic evidence. Forget about the confession; that alone cannot stand to gain a conviction,” he asserted.
The former senior officer emphasized that investigators must determine the type of explosive used, its triggering mechanism, and scientific proof linking the suspect to the device.
Slowe expressed alarm at the way police handled what they claimed to be the suspect’s clothing, which was reportedly seized shortly after the explosion.
“I was shocked when I saw what was said to be the suspect’s clothing—and the police were definitive about it. How could they know that? If indeed that was the clothing, it should have been treated as critical evidence,” he noted.
He warned that mishandling or contamination of such key evidence could undermine the prosecution’s case, allowing defense attorneys to question the chain of custody.
“In a case like this, you need proper forensic work—DNA testing, trace analysis, and scientific verification. Without that, the credibility of the evidence could easily be challenged,” Slowe cautioned.
The former Assistant Commissioner reiterated that scientific rigor and proper evidence management must guide the investigation into what authorities have described as a terrorist act that claimed the life of six-year-old Soraya Bourne and injured several others.
