Latest update April 24th, 2024 12:56 AM
Jul 16, 2010 News
By Michael Jordan
The parents of Assistant Superintendent Ivelaw Murray have vowed to move to the High Court today in a bid to have their son accorded a military funeral, since they are convinced that he was murdered.
Retired Superintendent of Police Ivan Daniels and his wife, Jenitta, are adamant that all evidence indicates that their 32-year-old son did not kill Constable Kevin Shepherd or commit suicide, as the hierarchy of the Force has repeatedly suggested.
Murray was to have been buried today and the couple told Kaieteur News that Commissioner Henry Greene informed them that the Assistant Superintendent would not be accorded the rites of a police rank.
According to Mrs. Jenitta Daniels, during the conversation with her, Commissioner Greene insisted that he is still treating the case as one of murder/suicide, while saying that he is still to see the pathologist’s report.
Mr. Daniels said that the couple’s attorney has advised them to postpone the funeral while they take the matter to the High Court.
Constable Kevin Shepherd, who police officials claim Murray killed, was laid to rest last week. He was reportedly accorded military rites.
Commissioner Greene recently told reporters that the two men had an “inappropriate relationship,” without giving a specific motive for the alleged murder/suicide.
‘B’ Division Commander Steve Merai has also repeatedly said that he is sticking to the view that Murray committed suicide after killing Shepherd.
Murray’s relatives and some of his colleagues have strongly dismissed suggestions that he was a homosexual. Their view is that the reports are being peddled by persons who were involved in the demise of the both Shepherd and Murray.
An autopsy by pathologist Dr. Vivekanand Bridgemohan raised further suspicion about the deaths of the two policemen.
Contrary to initial police reports, the autopsy revealed that Murray had been shot twice. One of the bullets had passed through the bottom of his chin, shattered his tongue and palate before exiting in an area between his eyebrows.
The other bullet pierced his right temple and exited through his left temple.
The opinion of some medical experts is that the wound below the chin would have rendered Murray incapable of pulling the trigger a second time.
Other medical experts suggested that Murray could have shot himself a second time if he had first shot himself under the chin. All the experts agreed that the shot to the temple would have killed him almost instantly.
Police sources told Kaieteur News that the wound below the chin was larger than the injury to the temple, and this raised suspicion that two weapons were used.
According to a source, Dr. Bridgemohan visited the crime scene and observed that the bullet that had exited just below Murray’s forehead had pierced the roof of his house.
There was reportedly an indentation on one of the walls, where it is believed that the other warhead struck.
Neither of the warheads was recovered.
This newspaper has confirmed that a bullet fragment was recovered from Constable Shepherd’s body. However, police officials said that ballistics experts have not yet been able to ascertain whether it came from Murray’s firearm.
Meanwhile, tests are still to be conducted on swabs that were rubbed on Murray’s hands for traces of gunpowder residue.
It is the view of some investigators that all the ranks who were at the Springlands Police Station on the fateful night should have had their hands checked for gunpowder residue.
With the absence of such evidence, some police sources have questioned what they see as the hasty pronouncement of murder/suicide.
Police officials allege that ASP Murray and Constable 20631 Kevin Shepherd were heard arguing in the barrack room of the Springlands Police Station. Later, a gunshot was heard in the barrack room and the Subordinate Officer in charge of Traffic at the station ran to see what had happened.
As the Subordinate Officer was going up the stairs leading to the barrack room, he saw Assistant Superintendent Ivelaw Murray hurriedly coming down the stairs. He enquired from Murray what had happened but Murray did not answer and left the station compound.
The Traffic Subordinate Officer then entered the barrack room where he found Constable Shepherd lying motionless with a gunshot wound to the head.
Checks were made but no spent shell was found at the scene.
Senior police officers then attempted to locate Murray but were unable to.
Eventually, at around 03:25hours ranks entered his home through an open door and found him lying dead on the living room floor with a gunshot wound below the chin and his service revolver in his hand.
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