Murder investigation underway in St Helier

Sunday 06 April 2014

A murder inquiry has been launched after the death of a 46-year-old man in town last night.

Police have announced that three people – two 35-year-old men and a 31-year-old woman – have been arrested on suspicion of the murder of the man who was discovered with what they will only describe as “extensive injuries”.

One of the men and the woman were arrested a short time after police went to an address in Duhamel Place last night at around 10.20 pm following reports of a death, and the other man was arrested by officers who were armed with firearms in St Clement early this morning.

Police say that when they arrived at the small one-bedroom flat in Duhamel Place last night they found the occupant dead. Two potential weapons were found “clearly visible” at the scene and police think they may have been used in the attack.

A Home Office pathologist is being flown in this afternoon to help with the investigation, and the body has been left at the scene for now. Duhamel Place was cordoned off this morning.

Detective Superintendent Stewart Gull said that the deceased and the three people arrested were all known to each other, and that the police do not think anyone else was involved in the incident.

He has urged anyone with any information that might help them to get in touch.

“We will be conducting house-to-house inquiries and speaking to friends and relatives and hopefully starting to piece the picture together in terms of the sequence of events,” he said.

“We would be keen to hear from anyone who has information relevant, however insignificant they think it might be – please let us be the judges of that.”

And he went on to say that killings in Jersey are “incredibly rare”.

“Jersey is a very safe place to live, work and visit,” said Det Supt Gull.

“The last homicide was in the summer of 2011, three years ago. Prior to that, it was seven years since we had a murder in Jersey, so events like this are incredibly rare and I would like to reassure the public that we believe that we have arrested all parties involved in this particular incident at this stage.

“Clearly, inquiries are still ongoing, but we believe that we have identified all the parties involved. They were known to each other, and there is no suggestion that the public or community are at risk of harm.

“We will name the man in due course, but we are still very much in the early stages of this investigation. We want to make sure that all of his family are aware of the tragic circumstances before we release a photograph.”

Police have emphasised that there is no connection to the tragic death of 17-year-old Jared John Widdowfield Harrison, who was found dead earlier on Saturday morning. His death is believed to have been drug-related.

Investigators say that anyone with any information should contact the Major Incident Room on 612923 or call Crimestoppers Anonymously on 0800 555111.