WESTERN BUREAU:District Constable Vinnette Guthrie was yesterday murdered in her Hanover home. The 39-year-old mother became the second policewoman to be slain since the start of the year.
At 1:30 a.m. yesterday, District Constable Guthrie was reportedly shot several times by an intruder at her Kingsvale home in the parish. The gunman escaped with her service pistol.
"Up to yesterday we worked together. We were on the road all day and came off at approximately 6 p.m. At about 1:30 this morning, I received a telephone call that she was killed. She was a very unassuming person and got on well with all members of the squad," said Sergeant George Beckford, her supervisor.
Guthrie, who leaves behind a 20-year-old daughter, was assigned to the Hanover Special Squad.
Shot in the head
The gunman reportedly entered the policewomans house through a window and proceeded to rummage through her handbag when he found her identification card and service pistol.
Following a struggle, she was shot in the head, chest and lower abdomen.
Her co-worker and training batchmate, District Constable Marvin Minott, described the dead cop as a humble person. He also recounted the last occasion on which he saw her on the job.
"Just yesterday, we were going home from work in a pickup after we finished working. She sat down on the edge of the railing and I told her to come off because I did not want anything to happen to her, and that I wanted to have a good Christmas this year and we still lose her," he said.
Commanding Officer for the Hanover Police, Deputy Superintendent Dermot Lawrence, said counselling was being provided for members of staff and Guthries immediate relatives.
Great loss
"Her death is a great loss to the division and all members of staff and community members are saddened by her passing. She was a hard-working individual well loved by members of staff and the community in which she lived and served. We remain resolute in our determination to bring the person or persons responsible for this crime to justice," he said.
Members of the normally peaceful Kingsvale community are also stricken with grief. Kirk Campbell, president of the Hanover Youth Council, told The Gleaner that Guthrie had an excellent rapport with the young people living in her home community.
"She was a community person. She was always for youths, always encouraging us not to waste our time sitting down on the road and to empower ourselves instead," said Campbell.
Minister of National Security, Colonel Trevor Macmillan, has reacted with anger and revulsion, describing the killing as disturbing in a release.
Rise up
He said the perpetrators of this brazen act of criminality must not be allowed to go unpunished and exhorted law-abiding citizens to rise up against criminals.
Peter Bunting, the opposition Peoples National Party spokesman on national security, also condemned the murder of District Constable Guthrie and extended condolences to her family and community.
In a release, Bunting said: "The Opposition mourns with the members of the security forces over this recurrence of the murder of one of their colleagues. We urge them not to be discouraged but to use this tragedy to strengthen their resolve to remove the scourge of lawlessness wherever it exists."
