HGP Nightly News – The disappearance of 26-year-old Cuban national Dailen Paneque Gómez has now become a murder investigation after her decomposed body was found along the East Coast of Demerara, with a police constable in custody and investigators probing what sources say is an alleged confession to the killing.
Gómez, who lived at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, had been reported missing after she was last seen in the early hours of Thursday, June 18, reportedly heading to work.
Her disappearance triggered a police search, and detectives attached to the Criminal Investigation Department Headquarters later traced her remains to a clump of bushes along the East Coast, where the body was discovered at around 7:50 p.m. on Wednesday.
The grim discovery has transformed the case from a missing person report into a murder probe.
Police have since detained Constable Randy Thomas as the investigation intensifies.
According to police sources, Thomas allegedly told investigators that on the day Gómez vanished, the two travelled in his motor vehicle to the Enmore Backdam area. While there, the pair reportedly became involved in a heated exchange that escalated into a confrontation.
Sources said Thomas claimed Gómez attacked him during the argument.
Investigators allege that Thomas then admitted he was armed with an illegal firearm and, during the encounter, discharged a shot that struck Gómez in the head. Police sources said he allegedly told detectives that a teddy bear was used to muffle the weapon when the fatal shot was fired.
According to information reaching investigators, Thomas further claimed that after Gómez was shot, he attempted to hide the crime by binding her body with rope and pulling it into nearby bushes.
Police sources said he also allegedly told detectives that the rope had been purchased earlier that same day from a Chinese supermarket in Mahaica.
Investigators further claim that after leaving the scene, Thomas returned to his home in Mahaica, where he allegedly tried to clean the interior of his vehicle using hand sanitizer.
The Guyana Police Force has so far only confirmed that Gómez’s body was found during sustained investigations and that a police constable is in custody as the probe continues. A detailed official report is expected as the investigation progresses.
