Murder Victim Named, 2 Men Arrested

The Police have named the murder victim from last night as George Lynch, and confirmed the arrest of two men, which we understand happened outside the Supreme Court.

Mr Lynch, a Jamaican national who was married to a Bermudian, worked at King Edward Hospital as a houseman. His wife Nekesha Holdipp is a teacher at Victor Scott School. They have two daughters together, were expecting another child, and Mr Lynch was also stepfather to Ms. Holdipp’s son Enharo.

Born in Kingston in 1969, Mr Lynch emigrated to Canada at age 25, where he obtained a Bachelors Degree from York University in Economics. Prior to moving to Bermuda, he worked for the Toronto School Board for 15 years.

They police have also confirmed that the murder was committed by two men on a Honda Wave bike, with both of the suspects described as wearing dark visors.

They fired only one shot, which hit Mr Lynch in the torso and proved to be fatal. The victim was standing with two other men when he was shot.

Two men have been arrested for questioning approximately one hour ago outside the Supreme Court. The men arrested were defendants in the Temasgan Furbert trial, and were cleared of charges relating to that incident this afternoon.

The house the shooting took place was the exact same house that was attacked during the incident surrounding the assault of Temasgan Furbert on February 27, 2009.

House which both the 2009 incident, and 2010 murder took place

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The police confirmed that the family were home at the time of the shooting. Two of the house residents were witnesses at the trial.

During the trial the jury heard that Mr Furbert was attacked by instruments including a power drill.

Only 2.5 hours before the shooting last night, three defendants [Tannock Williams, Bennett Phipps and Kiwaun Gilbert] were found guilty in a heated court scene, which saw one defendant yelling profanities at the judge.

The police would not officially confirm if the Temasgan Furbert trial and murder at his family homestead last night are related, saying “we don’t know if it’s the case” and calling it a “giant leap” to assume they are related.

When asked why Police were not monitoring the residence due to the heated trial, and guilty verdicts that came in only 2.5 hours prior, they responded that “it could not have been foreseen that the risk was that high“, and further explained that it is easy to hindsight to say what should and should not have been done.

The Commissioner of Police stated that the Police are aware of a possibility of escalation, and are taking proactive measures, including ensuring a high level of Police on the streets over the next coming time.

The Police confirmed that that Mr Lynch was not known to them, and had no connection with the trial.

The official police statement follows below:

The Bermuda Police Service can confirm that the victim of last night’s shooting is 40 year old Hamilton Parish resident – Mr. George Lynch.

Our sincere sympathies go out to the wife and family of Mr. Lynch, a Jamaican national who had come to work in Bermuda at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

At 10:27pm last night (Wednesday, 5th May 2010) Police Officers responded to a report of a man being conveyed to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in a private car, allegedly suffering from a gunshot wound.

It was ascertained that the victim had been shot whilst standing outside a private residence at #21 Midland Heights, Hamilton Parish. Mr. Lynch had been in the company of two other men at that time.

The suspects were riding on a motorcycle, and witnesses have described the shooters:-

• Two males on a Honda Wave motorcycle
• Both subjects were wearing dark or black clothing
• The rider was wearing a black Nolan crash helmet with a black visor covering his face
• The pillion passenger was wearing a round black crash helmet, also with a black visor covering his face

Mr. Lynch was shot once in his torso area, and this wound proved to be fatal.

The Serious Crime Unit is conducting this investigation under the leadership of Acting Detective Chief Inspector Michael Redfern. A team of detectives have also been conducting house to house enquiries, and forensic officers have fully and meticulously examined the crime scene for evidence. Any person with any information that will assist the enquiry team is urged to contact the Police directly on 299-8121, or the confidential Crime Stoppers Bermuda hotline on 800-TIPS (8477).

This is the 4th murder of 2010, the second in Hamilton Parish, and the second Jamaican national:

• Kimwandae Walker was fatally shot at a Good Friday event on Apr 2 [link]
• James.Lawes was fatally shot outside Place’s Place on March 19 [link]
• Perry Puckerin shot and killed in Hamilton Parish on Jan 3

#CrimeInBermuda #GeorgeLynchMurder #Jamaica #Murders #Shootings #TemasganFurbert

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