After almost a week of sifting through mounds of garbage, police yesterday removed the badly-decomposed bodies of a man and a woman, who they believe are missing Mandeville couple Richard and Julia Lyn, from the Martin’s Hill Dump in Manchester.

But the police were unable to report for certain that the remains were those of the elderly couple, who have been missing since December 10, and say they will now have to rely on DNA tests to provide answers.

“Both are not identified at this stage until we have DNA results to prove identity, but I do believe that they are Mr and Mrs Lyn and we will be continuing the investigation on that basis,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Leslie Green told reporters yesterday.

The remains were found on Friday evening, and on-the-spot autopsies conducted yesterday revealed that both persons died from strangulation.

The bodies were bound at the hands and feet and found face down in the back of an old pick-up at the back of the dump, which spreads just under 40 acres.

The police say pieces of jewellery and other items found at the scene will also be used to help identify the remains.

Yesterday, vultures, egrets and mongrels rummaged through the refuse as the cops removed the bodies to a tent for the post mortems to be conducted. The stench was unbearable and officers along with media workers struggled to maintain their composure.

The relatives, neighbours and friends of the Lyns have been traumatised by their disappearance and are yearning for closure to the sordid string of events, but according to Green, they may have to wait for at least a month before the remains can be positively identified.

He said the lack of modern DNA testing equipment at the Government Forensic Laboratory was a hindrance to speedy investigations of this nature.

“We may have until the end of January possibly before the bodies can be released,” Green said.

As soon as the bodies are formally identified through DNA tests, the police say they will seek the permission of the coroner to release the remains to the relatives of the dead persons.

Hours after the bodies were removed, the police swooped down on a premises on the outskirts of Mandeville and took a third man into custody in connection with the robbery and abduction of the Lyns.

“We believe he can assist us in our investigations,” Green told the Sunday Observer.

Police suspect that the men in custody are part of a Manchester-based gang who rob furniture and other items from homes in upscale communities. A garbage truck, which is now in police custody, is believed to have been used to transport the stolen goods from a number of homes in the mid-island town.

“They target the homes of persons who are not at home and because no one would suspect a garbage truck they would pack up the people’s things and make off,” one policeman said.

The police have since recovered a number of items, including two Toyota vehicles, furniture and golf clubs, which have been identified as property of the Lyns.

A number of other items, which the cops say do not belong to the Lyns, have since been recovered at various points in the parish.

The police say they suspect the Lyns met their demise after they walked in on the criminals in the act and were overpowered before being carted off.

“They did not get to bed as their pyjamas were still hanging in the bathroom and the clothes they were wearing on that day are still missing,” a police source told the Sunday Observer.

Two other men, Lennox ‘Son Son’ Swaby and Kevin Powell, have been charged with house-breaking, larceny and unlawful possession of property in connection with the incident. Swaby’s mother, 50 year-old June White, has been jointly charged with her son with illegal possession of ammunition after police said they found three rounds of ammunition at a premises they occupied.

White, Swaby and Powell were arrested on December 16.

Police say they have connected Swaby to at least two other murders in the parish. A police source said some years ago, a human skull was found in his yard. He was also out on bail for the murder of a 14-year-old girl whose body was found in a water tank in the parish at the time of his arrest. The girl was reportedly pregnant at the time of her death and police say Swaby was also facing charges of carnal abuse.

walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com