THE BOTTOM, Saba — The investigation, with the code named Hector, of the young woman found dead on Saba on April 15, is in full swing. The investigation is the responsibility of the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Public Prosecutor’s Office BES and the chief of the Dutch Caribbean Police Force.
From the start of the investigation the Chief Public Prosecutor and the Chief of Police are in close contact with each other. The investigation team has been strengthened with investigators and specialists from the Recherche Samenwerkings Team (RST). As of next week the team will get support from the Police Force from the European Netherlands.
On April 17th a special team and the public prosecutor came to Saba to initiate the investigation which is now being continued on Saba as well as on Bonaire. There are investigations being carried out, various items confiscated, information was requested from providers and witnesses were interviewed. The investigation was intensified the moment it became clear from the preliminary results of the forensic autopsy carried out on the body that a crime has been committed. Now that it is clear that this is a homicide, the investigation has the highest priority.
The investigation has a very broad approach. That is, when trying to figure out what happened and who is involved, however nothing is excluded. The investigation team is trying to trace as much as possible information about the victim and her whereabouts.
For this purpose, many more witnesses need to be interviewed. For this reason, the team will be active especially on Saba the coming period.
Because of the fact that the victim is not from Saba but has lived most of her life in the United States, there will also be investigations in the US. In order to do so, contact has already been established with the US authorities and cooperation with the FBI is taking shape.
The cooperation between the prosecutor’s office and KPCN with the US authorities will be based on, so called, mutual legal assistance. This means, that the BES authorities will be responsible for the investigation, but will be granted support from the United States.
The Public Prosecution’s Office and the Dutch Caribbean Police Force are well aware that there is curiosity and even concern may arise about this investigation. Especially in a small community an unsolved crime can cause commotion. By providing information about the investigation, the public will be informed as best as possible. However, no statements can be made about the ongoing investigation or specific directions of the investigation.
The first goal is to trace the perpetrator(s). And for someone who knows what has happened, any information regarding the progress or findings of an investigation may contain very important information. The investigation can therefore be obstructed, or even come to a dead end.
On May 7th, the leading investigator, the Chief of Police, the Chief Public Prosecutor and the Island Governor talked about how the investigation is further organized and about communicating with the public.
Also, a meeting was held with the management of the Saba University School of Medicine. Victim support is available for people affected by the occurrence.
There is a special phone number for people who have information which could be important for the Hector investigation team. Persons can also use this number to indicate that they would like for their call to be returned. Callers to this number can, if they feel it’s very important, indicate why they prefer to remain anonymous.
The information number is: 00599 4166073
