The police are making an appeal to the public to desist from spreading misinformation pertaining to the Chantel Crump case via social media.
Information has been making the rounds that the body of the nine-year-old had been dismembered and her eyes were missing.
However, when Observer media reached out to Public Relations Officer within the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda, Inspector Frankie Thomas, he dismissed the social media claims, stating that they are entirely false.
While withholding specific details about the condition of the child’s body when it was discovered, the police confirmed that the body was not mutilated.
Crump was found dead in a bushy area at Weatherhills early on the morning of Saturday March 15. This followed days of searches for her after she was abducted on Wednesday March 12 about 100 feet from her Gray’s Farm home.
The child had been lured into a silver Honda vehicle and whisked away by a female driver. The young woman accused of killing her – 20-year-old Angela Mejia appeared in court on March 17 amid heightened police security.
She has since been remanded to His Majesty’s Prison until June 4, when her committal proceedings are set to take place.
Inspector Thomas, in urging the public to stop spreading misinformation, stressed that such false claims only add distress to a sensitive and ongoing investigation. He is reminding the public that Crump’s family, loved ones, and the nation are grieving, and called for greater sensitivity and respect during this difficult time.
