Cops relying on DNA evidence in Shante’s murder case

It appears that the person(s) responsible for killing Shante Skyers dumped her body in an area of her Sterling Castle Heights community in west rural St Andrew at a time when the search for her was intense.

Skyers' decomposed body was found close to a pile of garbage in a section of the community known as Blue Hole last Tuesday, some five days after she went missing.

"I will tell people present that the area where the body was found was searched more than once. It was not like the area was left unmanned. So these are issues that we need to put on the table when we are investigating," Assistant Commissioner of Police Gary Griffiths said on Thursday night.

The senior cop was speaking at a consultation held by the police in the community.

Skyers, a grade-three student, disappeared and was seen walking from school through a popular but lonely pathway that leads to her home. Griffiths said the police will be relying on DNA evidence to help determine who was responsible for the child's death.

"The police have to take some responsibility in this matter but we have collected a number of statements from those in custody and other persons. The point where we have reached ... there is nobody who is yet known to us by name who is said to be somebody who can say, I saw.

"We have heard that persons see the child alone, hearing dog barking, rain falling, and what did we do? Up to the point where the police could do something, the child could have been dead."

"I must say that it is a sad day. Things could have been a little different from the police if the activities moved a little bit quicker. On Tuesday, a post-mortem was done and a number of things came up. We have three persons in custody and these persons are not yet suspect. We don't have enough to label these persons suspect. At the point we have reached though, we have to rely on scientific evidence to help us solve this case," Griffiths said.