Dutch police release Edmonton murder suspect from Caribbean island jail
Posted July 30, 2015 10:37 am.
Last Updated July 30, 2015 11:20 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
EDMONTON – Police say an Edmonton man arrested in the death of a medical student in the Caribbean has been released from custody.
In early June, Dutch authorities on the island of Saba arrested the man as a suspect in the death of the woman, whose body was found in April.
Police have not identified the man by name, but with the initials O.J.E.
Media reports in the Caribbean have identified the man as Omar. J. Elkadry, who is 27, and the woman as American Kavya Guda, who was 24.
Both were students at the Saba University School of Medicine when she died.
Saba is a municipality of the Netherlands.
“The man who has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the death of the student who was found on Saba has been released,” Dutch police say in a release. They are calling the decision by a judge a “setback.”
“However, the prosecution considers him still a suspect. The evidence on which he was previously in custody is still valid.”
Police say the investigation is far from over and prosecution officials are still searching for witnesses in the case.
Forensics experts are still reviewing DNA evidence. The cause of death has not been released.
“Because the suspect denies that he has anything to do with the death, and the research does not give definitive conclusions, the judge has decided that the evidence in this case no longer justifies the detention of the suspect,” police said.
“By this, the investigating judge shows a different interpretation of the case than the prosecutor’s office.”
Elkadry could not be reached for comment.
