HEAVENLY TERVEUS
By KHRISNA RUSSELL
Tribune Chief Reporter
krussell@tribunemedia.net
SENIOR officials have insisted law enforcement did all in its power in the days leading up to the murder of 21-year-old Heavenly Terveuus by her boyfriend and father of her child, Fenron Ferguson.
According to National Security Minister Wayne Munroe yesterday, on January 16 a patrol car was dispatched to the Miami Street home where Heavenly lived with her mother in response to a complaint of damage to a vehicle by Ferguson.
However, when police arrived, Ferguson was long gone and Heavenly declined to make a formal complaint against him at a nearby station despite the urging of a friend who was there at the time, Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle further revealed.
At one point, officers even spoke to Ferguson to try to have him return so that he could be arrested. But aware that police were searching for him, Ferguson evaded authorities and was never caught. He was on bail after he shot at Heavenly’s older sister and another person last year.
Mr Munroe said had his prior trouble with the law and bail status been disclosed to officers that day, there would have been a different response.
People who knew the young mother said she was tormented by Ferguson and lived in fear in the final days before her death.
On both the Monday and Tuesday before her death a neighbour disclosed that Heavenly was the victim of hostility and confrontation from Ferguson. Days later, he murdered her before turning the gun on himself in front of their one-month-old son.
While he was taken to hospital in critical condition following the incident, Ferguson died of his self-inflicted injuries on Monday at around 7pm.
Heavenly’s loved ones believe the police did not take the matter seriously. They believe if they had, the photographer might have been alive today.
Commissioner Rolle insisted matters of this sort are taken seriously and each one is investigated on its own merit.
He said: “We dispatched a team of officers there. They spoke with the young lady and she declined to make an official complaint. So, we got a complaint, we went there. There were no visible injuries. The law, if you are familiar with the provisions of the Protective Order Act, it gives the police certain mandates where certain circumstances exist—they did not exist.
“She declined to make an official complaint, but because this individual was on bail and this complaint was lodged, I had the officers still go to try and find him to take him into custody and so that we could try to have his bail revoked.
“But he was quite aware that the police were searching for him because officers even spoke to him and tried to get him to come in. He was still able to evade the officers and get back to that place and regrettably cause ultimate death to this young lady.
“I do want to extend condolences to the family and assure the family that, you know, that it is regrettable that this has happened, but we take these matters seriously and each and every one of these are investigated on its own merit.”
Mr Rolle continued: “You see if the persons were together living in the same place that would be different. Remember the officers did everything that the law permits and if the individual does not follow through to make a complaint. A friend of hers was there trying to encourage her to make the complaint and she declined.”
He said the police cannot force a person to make a complaint.
“We cannot force an individual to make a complaint and this is why I have said over and over and repeatedly that someone said once - the fella hit you once leave, what you going back for?
“I have also made an appeal and I want to again make that appeal to family members, if you know that your loved ones, you know that your friends have firearms, illegal firearms ask them to turn it over.
“If you (are) in a relationship with an individual and you know the fella got a gun, tell him ‘I don’t feel good with you having a gun’ before he get angry with you one day and he turns the gun on you.”
Mr Munroe also told reporters yesterday outside Cabinet that Heavenly also tried to get Ferguson to return to be arrested.
Asked why this was the case, he said patrol officers were not investigators.
“They make arrests. They respond to actual things that are happening. So, if they meet you there, they arrest you. They take you to the station. The matter is given a case number, the investigation begins,” Mr Munroe said.
“What we do not see in the system is indication from her for instance that ‘he shot at my sister, he is on bail’ which she would have been aware of. Had they known that that would have triggered a different response.”
He was also asked if he was of the view that more could have been done in this situation.
Mr Munroe said it is always different in hindsight, but manpower constraints do not allow for more.
“Hindsight is 20/20. If you looked at it in hindsight add those components to what you told the police would trigger a different response.
“…The police can always do more. If we had maybe 1,700 to 2,000 more policemen once the complaint is assigned, then the police can go and look for the complainant. Generally, people are directed to go to the nearest police station which was the Grove Police Station and make a complaint.
“Our manpower restraints doesn’t permit the police with all the responses to go looking for you and so we do require some cooperation from the public and the clearest cooperation is if you tell us everything then we will have all the information to respond,” Mr Munroe said.
Comments
ForeverDreamer 2 years, 10 months ago
Harsh words, but arguably true. People are acting like the police failed completely. The police did not release a man on bail, the police can't make appeal to have someone's bail revoked with out an actual complaint where someone is willing to be a witness. The neighbors clearly didn't want to risk it. Could be because the girl clearly was either afraid to affirm another's complaint, resulting in target on their backs as the girl acts like they are lying or that the girl for whatever reason didn't want him to be arrested. I'm recently being a bit tired of our public reactions to situations where in which there is a credible question of whether police or other institutions failed directly resulting in someone's death, and the emotional response that the victims in these scenarios are not contributing to some of the circumstances.
I am horrified by some of the recent police shootings inclusive of the alleged self defense against the DFO. I do not have information to suggest these people were innocent, however it does seem too simple the answers along with the AG lobbying the public against the DFO without releasing any source of his points he makes. Do we want the police to have more power? To be able to arrest any one they suspect of a domestic matter, against the will of the the victim? If we ask for more accountability or to restrict their harsh actions against our people, it seems incompatible to now scream for unilateral powers to be executed in another scenario that they are not granted.
ohdrap4 2 years, 10 months ago
People tend to ignore problems such as this. I once was the subject of a stalking by a member of the armed forces. At least 2 women at my work place had a similar experience but kept saying he was harmless. One man punched him in the parking lot when threatened. The principals at the workplace ignored my report at first.
The man had a habit of approaching people as they entered or left the parking lot, so I recruited some colleagues to ensure that someone would meet me or accompany me to the parking lot. Talk about abundance of caution.
I asked a member of his branch how to make a formal complaint to his force, the guy happened to know him and said he was 'harmless' but that he was never scheduled to work with women.
It was not until one of my parking lot escorts prevented this guy from reaching me that he was asked not to return to that place of business. AFAIK he stopped coming there. but yes, one day he might be armed, and it would have been too late, for me or anyone else.
So here it is, this place is small, so people hesitate to help because the stalker, male of female may be known to him for familial reasons. But sometimes, your childhood buddy from primary school or your third cousin grows up to be mentally imbalanced.
Craig 2 years, 10 months ago
The police completely failed this young women and mother. They just didn't take this situation seriously enough. Similar situations are probably being played out all over Nassau right now. How many women being abused, beaten or even killed will it take before the police change the way they address domestic violence? What they are currently doing is clearly not working. What a tragedy.
ForeverDreamer 2 years, 10 months ago
So when she defending him for allegedly shooting at her sister who was trying to stop a beating and refused to corroborate the sister report, this was them not taking it seriously?
Craig 2 years, 10 months ago
Intimidation and fear make people say and do irrational things. She was probably terrified of provoking him, she obviously knew what he was capable of. The police should know this. What was she to do without protection after she made the formal complaint? All that would have done was given him more of a reason to harm her after he was released. To avoid this, she probably thought it best not to make her situation worse by making the formal complaint.
tribanon 2 years, 10 months ago
Exactly! Too many posting here, like most of our police officers, have probably never heard of battered wife/girlfriend syndrome.
bahamianson 2 years, 10 months ago
Hence the unfortunate situation we have today. A beautiful soul gone too early.
quavaduff 2 years, 10 months ago
Keep the blame focused on the murderer Ferguson. Second guessing is too easy for perfect people.
jackbnimble 2 years, 10 months ago
From all accounts the young lady had failed to follow through with previous charges against her killer and even in her final weeks of life appeared to be hesitant to file a complaint and have him arrested. Her own family admitted that she waited too late. I also think the police are using the fact that she didn’t file a complaint as an excuse for their inaction. The fact that if she had said he was out on bail, it would have resulted in a different outcome makes no sense as surely having previously offended, he should have been ‘known to the police’. She failed herself and the police failed her. it’s just very sad all around.
Craig 2 years, 10 months ago
Victim blame is a sad excuse.
bahamianson 2 years, 10 months ago
If you ask officers and reserves, they will tell you that they go through the trouble to write down a report, go through all the protocol only to realize the next day that the complaint was dropped. Happens too often in this wife beater society. The place is too violent. Everyone has balls the size of Andros and you dare not squeeze them.
JackArawak 2 years, 10 months ago
How long shall they kill our prophets, while we stand aside and look.
Greentea 2 years, 10 months ago
One night I heard a ruckus outside my gate on an admittedly dark, quiet street off the eastern road. It was a police officer with a woman in his patrol car, cussing her out and slapping her up. Who do you call? Violence against women is par for the course in the Bahamas- disgraceful and sad from the top to the bottom. Bahamian men believe having a ding dong gives then inalienable rights to women. they switch from sugar to violent words the moment a woman or girl ignores or rejects their compliments of advances. I have seen it my entire life and I am no spring chicken. I have not faith this will change anytime soon.
ted4bz 2 years, 9 months ago
A lot of inconsistencies in this police statement. Early in the wee hours in the early 80’s thieves entered our property for the second time to steal another battery from my father’s vehicle. This time he was ready for them. he opened the door and shot into the air. The following day the police came by to question him, he explained the matter, but in the end, they took the gun away, even tho it was a licensed shot gun, he never got it back. I do not know how they found out this happened, but they came by because a gun was involved. The girl boyfriend shot at her sister. To me this is enough cause to go after the boyfriend and take him in, or down, whether she made a complaint or not, a gun was involved. The police should not be in the diddling and chicanery theater/business, they are not good at it especially when there is so much evidence and trail of paperwork in the path of their media statements. Politicians do this foolishness and always pay the price for it. It would be nice to have a second police statement please, but without the duplicity, thank you.
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