According to presiding coroner Patrick Murphy, the seven-member jury, in their unanimous verdict, concluded that “rat insecticide” was the agent used to poison the former commanding officer for the troubled Clarendon division that has been linked to the death squad investigation. “They [jurors] agreed that he was poisoned, but they don’t have the information to say how he was poisoned or who poisoned him,” Murphy explained. The verdict, which came after 35 minutes of deliberation, means that if new information is uncovered, the police can reopen the probe into Henry’s death. As is reported in the JAMAICA GLEANER .
I have doggedly followed this case from the moment I heard that SSP Dathan (Duffy Henry was Hospitalized. To those who do not know him, SSP Henry Officer in charge of the Parish of Clarendon. To Me he was Duffy. Duffy and I served at the Constant Spring CIB in the late 1980’s to early 1990’s I was promoted Acting Corporal. We sat the Accelerated Exams together we both passed. I left the Force in 1991 Duffy stayed . I was proud but not surprised to see Duffy climb the ladder to the rank of SSP rather rapidly.
He was smart , and curious. No matter what situation you are in he could make you laugh , he was just an all around good guy. I spoke to him just months before he died, by phone from New York . He hadn’t changed a bit , same Duffy !
From the beginning the streets had it that he was poisoned, anyone familiar with us Jamaicans
know once there is a rumor circulating in the streets , it bears investigating. I have written several Articles since his death. I did so to keep the case alive, so someone would be brought to justice for killing him.
As I said in a previous Article, a Coroner’s Jury cannot say who poisoned Dathan Henry . It can only say that his death is a Homicide. Well guess what? Everyone suspected that. The Jury has said that he was systematically poisoned meaning he was poisoned over a period of time.
My greatest fear after Duffy’s death was that the so-called Detectives at the Major Investigations taskforce (MIT) investigating his death would not be worth a damn nickel.
This will be upsetting to many past and present members, frankly I don’t really care. These Detectives today cannot investigate a crime committed in their view. They are practically worthless when it comes to doing a proper Investigation closing all the loop-holes and bringing a credible case to Prosecution.
I wrote rather pointedly during this period of waiting, beseeching the Police to continue to do a thorough Investigation with a view to bringing the perpetrator‑s to justice for killing this man. Even as I did , I was never convinced they had the ability to conduct a credible Investigation.
Never once, In the time since I left the Force have I ever wished I was still serving, until now. I may come off a bit arrogant, but so be it. If I was serving I would have done everything in my power to help in bringing Dathan Henry’s killer/s to Justice , and she/he would be convicted.
Roxan Henry, SSP Henry’s brother and the family spokesman, made it clear that they will continue their push to have the police conduct a more detailed probe and are contemplating hiring an attorney to ensure that this happens.
The problem with this is, that the incompetent Police Department is still necessary. Yes an Attorney can watch proceedings on behalf of the family but it requires good police work to bring the perpetrator/s to justice. The kind of Investigation which ceased to exist many years ago.
It is sad but the JCF owes this family a conviction. Dathan Duffy Henry was a smart young man who could have done anything he chose to with his life. He chose the Police Department. It is a sad indictment on that Department that it cannot bring to justice the killer/s one of one of it’s best and brightest stars. “He did not poison himself … he did not commit suicide. Someone poisoned him,” Roxan Henry insisted. He certainly did not , his killer/s are walking around right there in Jamaica.