Four men are tonight in jail for murders they allegedly committed in Punta Gorda as far back as four years ago. Gary Pratt, Dennis Trapp, and Sylvestre Trapp have jointly been charged for the 2003 murder of Brandon Borland Reneau while Pablo Aldana has similarly been charged with murder for the 2002 killing of Jermaine Usher. The cases are unrelated but both were recently cracked by Punta Gorda police. A 7NEWS team went down south today and found out why police didn't need a body to charge three of the accused killers.
Keith Swift Reporting,
This morning Punta Gorda police took this black plastic bag containing human remains to the Southern Regional Hospital for a post mortem. Police believe the bones in this bag belong to this man:
Journette Usher who went missing from P.G. four years ago.
Supt. Elodio Aragon,
"Over the weekend we got another information concerning the possible murder and disposal of a body which we strongly believe is Jermaine Journette Usher, better known likewise as Journette Dougal. The information we have gotten, we looked into it and saw that this was credible, that this could have happened, and as such we launched another investigation. We were able to detain a few persons, record certain statements, and were successful in unearthing the remains of what we believe was a male person."
Officer in charge of the Punta Gorda Police Detachment is Superintendent of Police Elodio Aragon. Supt. Aragon says Usher's remains were found in Yemery Grove Village, which is ten miles outside of Punta Gorda. Usher's body was found on the property of their prime suspect Pablo Aldana. Police believe that Usher and Aldana were acquaintances, and they are still looking for a motive.
Supt. Elodio Aragon,
"Based on our investigations we strongly believe this is the remains of a male person in his young twenties."
Fortunato Noble, 7NEWS Videographer
How do you suspect he was killed?
Supt. Elodio Aragon,
"We believe that due to our investigation we are looking at the fact that he was murdered with the use of a machete. When it comes to this case at present its inconclusive, we're not quite sure. I think that the day when this thing comes into question at the court, the motive will be shown. At this time it is still sketchy and it is not proper for me to speculate on it. But I am quite sure the motive will come about or will come about during our ongoing investigations because there are still a few people we have yet to talk to."
And while police have a bag of bones as concrete evidence that Jourette Usher is actually dead, they are also hot on the cold trail of this man: Brandon Borland Reneau. He went missing in December of 2003 and police are certain that he was killed. His remains haven't been located but police have charged three men for his murder.
Supt. Elodio Aragon,
"About three weeks ago now we got information where it is believed, or was believed, that a murder took place and somebody or some people had buried a body back in the Boom area of Punta Gorda town. What we did from there is
we began an investigation and we looked at all the incidents prior to and surrounding the death of this person. We were able to successfully detain a few persons, obtain several statements and we strongly believe that this indeed happened and that is the first murder which involves the arrest and charge of Gary Pratt, Dennis Trapp, and Sylvestre Trapp. These persons are remanded at Hattieville Prison on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and likewise that of murder.
At this time we have not been able to recover the remains of this body. This incident occurred approximately two and a half years ago and we believe this was about the proceeds of a crime which was a burglary committed in Punta Gorda. At this time we have not been able to find the remains but we are not giving up and we are doing our best to find this remains which I am positive that with due time and effort we will be successful.
We have strong supporting evidence, circumstantial, that points to murder. Despite the fact that we may never find a body, it does not mean that we do not have a case in court. There are several cases before that have pointed out that we can find a conviction for murder without a body. There cases in question that have happened before so we are pushing and doing our best because we are convinced due to all our investigations that this indeed took place and therefore we will continue and I am positive that with time we will come up with this body.
On both cases we have been consulting with the DPP's office to ensure that we are doing the things in a proper manner to best help this case in court so at no time are we doing on our own but rather in consultation with the DPP's office to assist in a successful prosecution of this case."
Conviction aside supt. Aragon says that closure to cases like these could not be made without the assistance of the public.
Supt. Elodio Aragon,
"One of the biggest help we are getting is from the community and it goes a long way to show how the community and police working together can achieve a lot. Four years ago when this murder was committed no one thought that this guy was murdered but now we have successfully found this body and we have successfully charged this person for murder. So it shows the commitment of the police Department to bring these criminals to justice."
A post mortem on Usher's remains was performed this morning in Dangriga. Meanwhile Brandon Borland Reneau's family declined comment. They did say that without his body, the family still hasn't reached a state of closure.
