Dental records confirm decomposed body is kidnap victim

Dental records provided by a dentist led to the identity of the man whose decomposed body was discovered at Waterloo Road, Carapichaima, on Tuesday morning.

Yesterday, the dentist went to the Forensic Science Centre with the dental records belonging to kidnap victim Damien Schneider and compared it with those of the body. The records matched and the body was identified as that of Damien Schneider, 35. Schneider was kidnapped on July 13 outside his Sandhurst Street, Belmont home. His uncle Edward Salvatori said he was called in to identify the body on Tuesday but was unable to do so because of the advanced state of decomposition. The kidnappers last made contact with the family last Thursday and demanded a ransom of $200,000. Marina Schneider, the bed-ridden mother of Schneider, was in a state of shock and depression yesterday on learning of the positive identification.

When Newsday visited the home, relatives had already gathered at the house and were seen consoling Marina. Police investigators believe that Schneider was killed over the weekend and his body dumped at Carapichaima on Monday night. The body was discovered around 9 am on Tuesday in a shallow river, near a canefield. The killers attempted to burn the body as there was a heavy smell of diesel near the corpse. Parts of the legs and mid-section were charred, while the hands and feet were bound together. An autopsy will be carried out on the body to determine the cause of death. Two men charged with the kidnapping of Schneider are expected to be charged with murder. Roger Gillard and Carlos Richardson, both of Duncan Street, Port-of-Spain, were denied bail when they appeared in court on Tuesday on a charge of kidnapping Schneider. The two men will re-appear in court today.

Yesterday, Snr Supt Gilbert Reyes, the Head of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad said that most of the kidnappings are organised and being carried out by ordinary criminal elements. Newsday learned that new and innovative measures will be introduced shortly to deal with the spate of kidnappings throughout the country. The Chess Association, of which Schneider was a member, expressed sadness over Schneider’s death.