James: Polygraph test for all those at party

The ruling by chief magistrate Sherman McNicolls’ that Akiel Chambers’ death was not accidental and his decision to refer it to the Commissioner of Police for further investigation has found favour with Charles James. James yesterday told Sunday Newsday that the way in which McNicolls handled things proved that there is still justice for poor people. “I want  to see justice because the incident happened at my home and the criminal is running free,” he said.

James felt that the investigations carried out by the police so far was not done in the proper way. “The first autopsy showed that he had died from drowning and the second revealed sperm in his anal canal,” James said. “Even if it meant a delayed burial, they should have done that and conducted a thorough investigation,” he added. According to James, the police has enough expertise and still has enough evidence to investigate the matter properly and “bring the guilty party or parties to justice.”  Although the sample on the anal swab has been destroyed, James said, they still have the underwear and the shorts that Akiel was wearing on the fateful day. “These could be sent abroad to be analyzed if there were no facilities to do so here,” James said. “The person who committed that crime is right here (in Trinidad) and I am willing to cooperate with the police as much as possible,” he added.

James is calling on Commissioner Everald Snaggs to place special emphasis on this case and he even suggested that Snaggs should assign special investigators to concentrate solely on getting to the bottom of it. One of James’ recommendations for the new investigation was for the police to interview everyone who were at the party on that day and subject them to polygraph tests. These persons, he said, should include two of his older daughters, who had been at the party but had not been questioned at all by the police. “There was a party at my house, which I knew nothing about.  People I don’t know came to my home, a child died and I knew nothing about the inquest until an investigator spoke to me about it. This whole case is a soap opera.  I want to know how Akiel died.”