Police Commissioner Verne Garde said Thursday that exhibits once believed to be missing in the murder investigation of 22-year-old Chacadan Daniel have been recovered.
Speaking at a press conference, Garde explained that the discovery came after a renewed search of the exhibit room at the Micoud Police Station.
“The primary investigator for that matter was on vacation, I reassigned the investigation to a more senior person, and they went over the file,” Garde said. “It was reported to me by a number of reports that the issue in the matter was the fact that the primary evidence was not available and it was missing. In fact, the initial report on the missing evidence went back as far as 2018, 2019.”
According to Garde, a formal investigation into the missing exhibits began in May 2023. He said that after multiple searches of the exhibit room, officers eventually retrieved the items.
“Subsequent to the receiving of the exhibits, I have given instructions to get some non-intimate samples of several of the police officers who worked at the station during that period,” Garde added. “We’ve submitted the exhibit itself to the lab and the lab will be cross-referencing the DNA with these non-intimate samples, because we want to be sure of exactly what transpired in that station on that day. The police in every station have a duty of care. So, we have to be very cautious when somebody dies in our custody.”
Verne Garde, Police Commissioner, Royal Saint Lucia Police Force
The announcement comes nearly two months after Garde disclosed that the noose central to the 2013 case had disappeared from police custody. Daniel was found hanging in a cell at the Micoud Police Station more than a decade ago. An inquest later ruled his death an unlawful killing, contradicting initial police claims that he had taken his own life.
For Daniel’s family, the case has been marked by years of anguish and frustration over delays in accountability.
On August 11, the family released a statement describing their pain as “without measure” and criticising both the police and the criminal justice system for what they called a lack of due process and transparency.
“It has been a long hard road,” the family said. “Every anniversary of his killing and even this recent news continues to be very emotional for his mother and his siblings. We persevere so that no other family has to go through a similar experience, as justice delayed is justice denied.”
They also called for sweeping reforms, including stricter procedures for securing and accessing evidence, greater support for the public when seeking redress, and the creation of an independent body to handle complaints against police officers.
The family thanked Garde for disclosing details of the missing exhibits.
They also stressed that Daniel’s death “is not a political issue”.
“It is a national issue which highlights the lack of due process, accountability, transparency and respect for human rights, particularly for marginalised communities.”
