Almost two years to the day after his son Robert Mackford Bush was shot dead in 2011, Irvin Garland Bush met a similar fate when he was gunned down in West Bay.
In this month’s Cayman Compass Cold Case series, in partnership with the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, we delve into the circumstances surrounding the elder Bush’s murder on 15 Sept. 2013.
It is a case that has remained with RCIPS Chief Inspector Malcolm Kay for the last nine years as he continues to hope that justice can prevail for the Bush family.
“He [Irvin Bush] was a human being. He was a person, a member of the community… [he] didn’t deserve to be shot and killed,” Kay told the Compass, as he pleaded for information to help police find who killed the 52-year-old man.
Bush, Kay said, was known to police but this should not stop anyone who has information from helping solve his murder.
“Regardless of anyone’s thoughts and opinions of him as an individual, I would ask everyone to put those aside and still come forward,” Kay said.
Not a day goes by that the Bush family does not think about the father of four, they said in a brief statement to the Compass.
“Irvin was hardworking and had an outgoing personality. He got along with everyone. He certainly didn’t deserve this. Even though she loved all of her children, he was the apple of his Mother’s eyes. Irvin loved his children and grandchildren,” the family said.
Christmas time is always difficult, they added.
“This time of year, [Irvin] would be setting up Christmas lights, painting and getting ready for Christmas and helping others to get ready for the holidays,” the statement said.
The family called on “anyone out there who may know anything about [Bush’s murder], no matter how simple they think it is” to come forward.
“It could [be] something that leads the police [to find his killers.] Please come forward, [our] family wants closure,” the statement said.
Killed by his home
Irvin Bush’s case was one that shook the community back in 2013 as he was the first Cayman Islands resident to die in a shooting since the 16 Dec. 2012 killing of Jackson Rainford in George Town.
Cayman had been enjoying a relatively peaceful time since that earlier spate of tit-for-tat shootings, when news of Bush’s death spread.
Kay said Bush was at his home in the Logwoods area of West Bay when he was ambushed.
“He was at home minding his own business when we believe he was approached by a gunman or number of gunmen and they opened fire and shot him several times, killing him,” Kay, the lead investigator on the case at the time, said.
The incident happened at approximately 10pm on Daisy Lane, he said.
“It was apparent that he [Bush] was home. He was eating, he was by himself at his residence,” Kay said.
Bush, who was gunned down outside his home, had received death threats prior to his murder, Kay said, but added that his killing was not linked to gang-related shootings.
“I think his assailant was known to him. It was more of a neighbourhood rift that was taken to an extreme,” Kay said, as he shared the possible motive for Bush’s killing.
No one else was injured in the shooting, he added.
However, police believe that one of Bush’s close neighbours “might have also been targeted in that shooting, but they were not shot or injured in the incident”, he said.
Kay said he knows there are people who have information on Bush’s shooting and they can bring closure to this case.
“It’s a very closely knit community. There’s lots of houses and other residences in the immediate area. We believe people were in and out, not everybody had retired for the night. As a result of that, we do believe that people would’ve seen exactly what happened, which is where [this] fresh appeal [is coming from] for witnesses to come forward and assist us with those inquiries,” he said.
Though the murders of father and sons are not connected, police are also seeking the public’s help for information in both cases.
Bush’s family is still trying to come to terms with the murders and the loss of the men.
Knowing who did it is not enough
Retired Detective Sergeant Peter Dean, former head of the Serious Crimes Review Team, stressed that cases like Irvin Bush’s murder need community support to bring closure to the families hurt by violent crimes.
“There are numerous cold cases going back a number of years that are unsolved, and on a lot of occasions we do know people in the community do have information,” Dean said, adding that police also appreciate the safety issue for people sharing what they know.
“That’s why we constantly say that in the first instance, we will absolutely maintain confidentiality if anybody comes forward,” he said, but stressed that if a witness does not request anonymity, “we won’t just leave them to their own devices. We will put things in place to maintain their safety and that of close family members.”
Dean said it is no good just knowing who is responsible for a murder.
Anyone with information relating to Mr Bush’s murder or any of the cases in this series can call the Serious Crime Review team confidential tip line at 649-2930.
“We need people to step up to the plate. We need people to actually say, okay, this is what I know… this is what I saw. This is what I’ve been told. Without people doing that, then it makes our job, if not impossible, it makes it incredibly difficult,” Dean said.
Kay also stressed that there is only so much police can do.
“We can find out what happened. We can also suspect who did it but without that bit of evidence to reach that threshold to charge,” he said, they can’t take it to court.
Kay said as part of the investigation, a number of suspects were identified and a number of people were arrested and interviewed under caution, but no one was charged.
“We do believe people witnessed exactly what happened. We would like them to reconsider coming forward and giving us that evidence that we need to push this across the finish line,” Kay said.
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