Giselle Georges (left) and Yana Auguste
(SNO) — The Royal St. Lucia Police Force is taking aim at cold cases with the hope of bringing the perpetrators to justice and closure to the relatives of the victims.
Assistance Police Commissioner-Crime, Wayne Charlery, expressed optimism at a recent press conference that results will be positive.
“In life there will always be challenges,” he said. “The challenges that we are facing right now are no different. It may be a little bit more complex 20 years ago, even 100 years, but the skills and competencies that we have right now, we are more able now to meet those challenges than before.”
He promised to have results on some cold cases within half a year, in collaboration with the forensic lab.
“We will get it done, we will have some measures of success within six months, and I will be here before six months to report to you on some of those cold cases,” Charlery stated.
Cases involving the homicide of Giselle Georges and Yana Auguste are among those on the agenda, police said.
The lifeless body of Georges was reportedly found gagged, beaten, and raped at her residence in Bonneterre, Gros Islet on December 15, 1998, around 2 p.m. She was 16 years old.
Auguste’s body was found near the wreckage of her vehicle at the bottom of Anse Chastnet Hill in Soufriere July 13, 2015. It was initially thought she died as a result of a vehicular accident but a post-mortem revealed the true cause of death were physical trauma and asphyxia.
Meanwhile Police Commissioner Severin Moncherry told the press that although the forensic lab is closed, there is still a staff compliment at the facility.
“Whereas it may be a little longer to get the analysis, it does not mean that we are not getting analysis done,” he stated. “As a matter of fact we are still working closely with the lab, there is a staff compliment at the lab, and we are working very closely with them.”
He stated that although the wait for analysis is longer, “it doesn’t mean that is the end of it and we don’t want analysis at all”.
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