HGP Nightly News – Police say they have recovered a knife, clothing and digital evidence as investigators continue building their case against the 23-year-old man arrested in connection with the brutal killing of seven-year-old Adriel Aftab Mohamed at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum has confirmed to several media sources that the suspect confessed to the crime after detectives confronted him with what police described as compelling digital evidence placing him at the Zeelugt Phase Three Housing Scheme home at the time of the attack.
According to the Crime Chief, the suspect was unable to deny being at the location and later admitted to investigators what transpired after he entered the house.
Police have since recovered a knife from the crime scene. The suspect reportedly identified it as the weapon used to kill the child and injure the elderly woman who survived the attack.
Investigators have also recovered clothing believed to have been worn by the suspect during the incident. The garments, along with other evidence collected from the scene, are expected to be submitted to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.
The investigation also reportedly uncovered evidence linking the suspect to another property in the area shortly before the deadly attack.
When confronted with additional digital evidence, the suspect reportedly admitted that he had first entered a nearby yard but left after hearing movement inside the house.
Police said he fled that yard and left behind a pair of slippers and a music player. Those items were later recovered by investigators and reportedly identified by the suspect as his property.
Detectives also received information that the suspect reported for work on the morning of the murder with a visible injury to his hand.
Police said his employer informed investigators that the injury was not present when the suspect left work the previous day. The suspect reportedly admitted that the cut was sustained during the attack.
The murder occurred during the early hours of Friday at Phase Three, Zeelugt New Housing Scheme.
Adriel was found dead inside the home, while his 72-year-old great-grandmother, Halima Itwari, was injured and rushed to hospital, where she remains a patient.
Police are continuing their investigations as they work to complete the case file and await forensic examination of the evidence recovered.
