Police say they are still conducting tests on the human remains found buried in a shallow grave off the coastal highway earlier this week. According to police they still don’t the sex of the person, the age, or the cause of death. But as we’ve been reporting, credible reports to us are that the police are investigating the possibility that the remains are those of Jermaine Fuentes – a fugitive from the law who was the police’s most wanted man in 2002. Fuentes’ family says they don’t need to wait for the test results – they know it is their brother and son. And that’s why his family showed up at the KHMH morgue this afternoon. His mom and sister claim police told them the post mortem would be conducted this afternoon – but when they showed up - the morgue was closed.
His sister Jackie Fuentes and cousin Nyesha Matute today made an angry appeal for the remains.
Jackie Fuentes, Sister
“The police know exactly that it is indeed Jermaine Fuentes. They are covering it up because if it was not a cover up, police would allow at least a family member or somebody to be in there with the doctor when the autopsy
was being done and not even that. That autopsy is being done without our knowledge. We didn’t even know my brother was dead until we heard it on Channel 7. So obviously the police have a lot to hide because if the media didn’t get this news, we wouldn’t even have known.”
Nyesha Matute, Cousin
“Why would they lie to the family, why will you inform the family that this autopsy should be done today a three o’clock, knowing that it had been done there and then when you were actually speaking to my aunt. We want some answers and we want to know why are you guys hiding. We want the truth to be out.”
Jackie Fuentes,
“They are trying to make us believe that it is not a male and it’s not a female. People from the hospital tell us it’s been two days they have been working on that body. So at least today they could tell us if it is a male or a female, not even that they know at this point.”
Keith Swift,
So the family wants the bones?
Jackie Fuentes,
“Of course we want to cremate our brother and have a memorial service for him. We want the bones, we deserve that and we demand that. Jermaine is not convicted of any crime. Yes police wanted him but innocent until proven guilty. But as far as I am concerned, the police are playing judge, jury, and executioner – that is what they are trying to play. They have already killed my brother and now it looks like they want to eat his bones. How can you have this man like it is a dog? He is somebody’s brother, he is somebody’s son. We love fi we brother and we want fi we brother’s bones. They know it is Jermaine Fuentes and we want the bones. How much longer will you keep this boy’s bones? How longer? He has been missing for six years, we want his bones now.”
Police say a series of tests are underway and that’s why the Fuentes family has not been informed of the results. They add that it is still unclear if the remains are indeed those of Jermaine Fuentes. And to settle that, the family contends that a DNA test can be conducted because Jermaine Fuentes has a son who could provide a sample for testing.
