When crimes happen, here in the Cayman Islands, it’s up to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service to crack the case within the shortest time available.
However, sometimes it is not so easy to bring a case to a conclusion where justice is served and families of the victims get the closure they need.
Over the last nine months, the Cayman Compass embarked on a special multi-media series, in partnership with the RCIPS, to shine the spotlight on the unsolved cases.
Working with the Serious Crime Review team, led by Detective Sergeant Peter Dean, Compass journalists Reshma Ragoonath and Alvaro Serey delved into the circumstances of eight of these cases, some of which have remained open and under investigation for a decade.
1. David Ebanks
At just 20-years-old David Ebanks’s life was cut short at the hands of killers on the evening of 23 Jan. 2015. According to his file, Ebanks was socialising at Kelly’s Bar in West Bay when a vehicle was driven onto the street. Unknown men got out and attacked Ebanks and another man. Ebanks was shot twice as he ran into the backyard of the house opposite, where he collapsed and later died. His attackers fled in what police later discovered was a stolen car. That car was found abandoned and set on fire. His mother, Dolyn Powery-Ebanks, remains hopeful her son’s killers will be found.
2. Justin ‘Dilly’ Manderson
Father-of-one Justin Manderson came face-to-face with a man in a crowded nightclub back on 1 Oct. 2016 who would later become his killer, according to his RCIPS case file. The 24-year-old man was at what was then called Nectar nightclub, when he was confronted; fearing for his life, Manderson called 911 and reported that he had been threatened. As he left the nightclub, his attacker followed him and shot at him while he was on the sidewalk near Seven Mile Shops. He died at hospital. Manderson, police acknowledged, was known to the investigators at the time and had been connected to a previous shooting. They said his murder was a revenge killing. However, those at the Serious Crime Review Team, affirmed that that should not prevent the Manderson family, including grieving dad Jake Manderson, from getting justice.
3. Courtney Delroy Spence
One month after celebrating his 32nd birthday, Courtney Delroy Spence’s life came to an untimely and violent end, when the Jamaican national was ambushed and gunned down on 28 Jan. 2010. Police said his murder was a premeditated attack, which may have involved more people than just the shooter. It was a crime planned around Spence’s work schedule and timed for execution when he was alone and defenceless. Spence left work and went to his truck to head home. When he started the vehicle and turned on the headlights, his attacker, who had been laying in wait, emerged from the darkness. The unknown person struggled with Spence as he tried to shut his door before eventually shooting the 32-year-old in the head.
4. Kerran ‘Kerry-Ann’ Baker
On the evening of 30 July 2011, Kerran ‘Kerry-Ann’ Baker disappeared without a trace and left many asking: what really happened to the 25-year-old clinical nurse? Her case is one that many, including the initial investigators, cannot forget. Baker, a Jamaican, was reported missing on 1 Aug. 2011 after her friends were unable to reach her. Checks at her apartment found supermarket supplies untouched in the kitchen; CCTV footage obtained from Foster’s Airport supermarket showed Baker leaving the premises with the items. What happened after she got home remains unknown. Her car was later found abandoned near the cemetery near Pedro St. James. The keys had been tossed in the nearby bushes. A suspect was detained, but there was insufficient evidence to charge him. Baker’s body was never found
5. Jason Christian
Teenager Jason Christian was the fourth person murdered in a week of deadly gang-related shootings that marred September 2011. In the Cold Case series, we looked at his murder first, as we worked our way back to the first shooting that triggered the tit-for-tat killings that month. In Christian’s case, the 18-year-old expectant father, together with Keith Montique, whom police believed was the intended target, were lured to their deaths on Cranbook Drive, Crewe Road on the night of of 19 Sept., 2011. Christian and Montique, both of whom, police said, were affiliated with the Birch Tree Hill gang at the time, were ambushed by two unknown assailants as they waited in their vehicle. Montique escaped, and sought help from passing police. Christian, however, did not survive the shooting.
6. Preston Rivers
On the night of 17 Sept., 2011 the community of West Bay was rocked by another shooting, this time on Andresen Road, off Conch Point Road. The victim was identified as Preston Rivers. The 18-year-old was ambushed by a lone gunman as he exited a car when he and his girlfriend had returned from collecting takeout. At least four shots were fired at the teen, three of which hit him. He was killed on the spot.
7. Andrew Baptist
The murder of father-of-two Andrew Baptist was considered to be retaliatory for the assassination of Robert Mackford Bush. Bush was gunned down days before Baptist was executed in what police described as a revenge murder. Police said at the time ‘word on the street’ was that Baptist was involved in Bush’s murder, but that was not true. Baptist was killed on the night of 15 Sept. 2011 on Sand Hole Road, off Boatswain Bay Road in West Bay, at a friend’s home. Baptist was shot in the back as he ran for his life. He fell to the floor and his killers stood over him and emptied their guns into Baptist before escaping.
8. Robert Mackford Bush
The assassination of Robert Mackford Bush in September 2011 sparked one of the bloodiest weeks in Cayman’s history, as tensions between rival gangs escalated. West Bay resident Brian Emmanuel Borden was convicted for murdering the 28-year-old man and is serving a 34 years’ sentence for the Bush’s murder. However, police said the case is still open as the second shooter is yet to be arrested. Bush was picking up his female companion when she noticed two men running towards their car. She told Bush to drive, but it was too late as the armed men were already upon them. They fired shots at Bush, fatally wounding him. His companion received superficial gunshot injuries, their car careened and crashed into a wall following the shooting.
Anyone with information on these cases can call the Serious Crime Review Team on the confidential tip line 649-2930.
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