Police in Grenada appeal for calm following schoolgirl murder

Last updated: November 19, 2017 at 23:18 pm

A senior police officer in Grenada has warned against any form of vigilantism following the first court appearance of the Ariel Bolah murder suspect.

An angry crowd gathered outside St George's Magistrate Court on Wednesday as the teenager – who cannot be named for legal reasons – made his first appearance.

Loud jeers rang out and the crowd surged forward when the accused was rushed into transport to take him back to prison. He was protected by armed guards.

Franklyn Redhead, acting commissioner of the Royal Grenada Police Force, told a news briefing yesterday that they want people to “refrain from vigilantism” as this will have “serious knock-on effects within the community.”

“What has happened is very, very, very unfortunate. It speaks to the aspect of human nature that is very barbaric, very reprehensible,” he said.

“But at the same time we cannot respond in kind in that manner, and we have to ensure that as mature individuals, as a mature state, as a mature country, that we move forward in good sense and allow good sense to prevail.”

Culture shift

The body of nine-year-old Ariel Bolah was discovered on Saturday morning in woodland near her house in Frequente, St George. She has been reported missing less than 24 hours before.

She was last seen walking home from school.

[caption id="attachment_7850" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Ariel Bolah.[/caption]

The cause of death has not been released as police are yet to receive an official autopsy report.

Redhead has said the whole of Grenada must join together to ensure incidents like this are not repeated, and that law enforcement is only one aspect.

“Coming out of this very unfortunate situation, to me certainly in my opinion, what has happened very unfortunate over the weekend is a consequence of a much more deeply embedded problem with our societies,” he said.

“That has to do with the male psyche, the way we are being cultured as a people interns of what it means to be a man, and the whole aspect of violence and a range of factors.

“And unless we address these fundamental issues that are deeply entrenched within our culture I think we’ll see more consequences of that in terms of violence against women, violence against each other and violence in the society.

“There has to be a coming together, an understanding of what are the root cause of these problems.”

Speaking at the same press briefing, Superintendent Earl Dunbar, head of the criminal investigations department, that prior to the murder, the 17-year-old suspect had been previously charged with separate crimes.

“There are two matters pending in the juvenile court, namely one for wounding and the other for causing harm,” he said.

He added that he was unable to give any further details on those matters.

Redhead said: “When you’re dealing with juveniles you have to be very guarded with the information you put out in the public domain.”

The police force also confirmed that they have only one person in custody, despite rumours circulating on social media.