Police look into negligence in Kimani's death

Investigations into any possible negligence in the death of two-year-old Kimani “Mani” Francis are being handled by the police’s Child Protection Unit.

Kimani wandered away from his home in Tenth Street Extension in Techier Village on Monday morning. After a massive search by the protective services, NGOs and civilians, the little boy was found dead the next day in the Guapo River.

The autopsy, which was done on Friday morning at the Forensic Science Centre in St James, found his death was due to asphyxia consistent with drowning.

Relatives only realised Kimani was missing when police visited his home.

On Friday, members of the NGO Hunters Search and Rescue Team, led by captain Vallence Rambharat, returned to the area where Kimani’s body was found to "recheck" the site with police.

Rambharat said the exercise lasted roughly four hours.

He said, "We measured the distance from the house to the bridge. It is 520 metres or 1,703 feet."

Meanwhile, the man who walked into the Point Fortin police station and confessed to killing “the child” on Thursday was still in police custody. The man, from Techier Village in Point Fortin, who police believes is an outpatient of a psychiatric clinic, did not identify the child by name or gender.

An officer told Sunday Newsday the man had to have an attorney before he could be questioned. Questioning has been delayed because the attorney previously appointed to him said, due to the man’s state of mind, she was unable to take instructions from him. The officer added that only a court could order a psychiatric assessment.

In an unrelated incident, the suspect in the murder of 24-year-old Ellen Krishana Mohammed was expected to be interviewed on Saturday.

According to reports, Mohammed and a man known to her had an argument at her La Brea Village, Mayaro home on Wednesday. The man chopped Mohammed several times on her neck and ran away but was stopped by police. He allegedly confessed to killing Mohammed, was arrested and handed over to police at the Mayaro station.

The suspect in the killing of Abeo Cudjoe, 31, and her son Levi Lewis, 12, on Tuesday at their Lachoos Road, Penal home, is also still in police custody. The police said a file on the soldier has been submitted  to the Director of Public Prosecutions department.