SXMElections.com

MARIGOT--Guadeloupe Prosecutor Samuel Finielz confirmed to journalists on Monday that Wendy Montulet (22), the young Belgian tourist who went jogging on Saturday, July 9, and never returned to her hotel, died of multiple puncture and slash wounds, consistent with those inflicted by a knife.

That was the preliminary finding of cause of death from the doctor on the scene. Finielz, who was speaking to the press by video link from Guadeloupe, was guarded with his information in view of the sensitivity of the case and in respect for the family.

He declined to disclose details of the weapon and how many stab wounds or their location on the body. He said there were “not enough elements” at the moment to say whether the victim had been sexually assaulted or raped, nor did he reveal whether the body had been found fully clothed, partially clothed or without clothes.

It was not determined whether the murder had been committed by one person or more than one person.

Finielz said Wendy had been on holiday on the island for the second time. This time her stay at Le Flamboyant Hotel was for 10 days. She was in the habit of jogging every morning for about an hour, usually in the direction of Lowlands.

“The Justice system, Gendarmerie and other authorities and departments are fully mobilised on this case as a matter of extreme importance,” he said. “The Dutch-side police and Prosecutor are fully aware of the situation.”

Wendy’s parents are no longer at the hotel, but in the care of a victims association and receiving counselling from a psychologist and other social services. The Association Trait d’Union is assisting with all the paperwork that needs to be done before the family can return to Belgium with the body.

An autopsy of the body to confirm cause of death will be carried out in St. Martin this Thursday. In addition, DNA evidence from the body was flown to a laboratory in Bordeaux on Monday for analysis as a matter of urgency.

Gendarmerie Deputy Commandant Captain Emmanuel Maignan said this evidence would be compared in the database in the HOPE of identifying the murderer.

The Gendarmerie was alerted to what was then a missing person case on Saturday at 2:00pm by Wendy’s stepfather. Immediately some 30 Gendarmes were deployed to search for her in the Baie Nettle and Lowlands area without success.

Capitaine Maignan said the intensive search had included studying video surveillance, asking people whether they had seen Wendy from the photo, when they had last seen her, and alerting the Dutch-side Police Force who carried out some controls at the border.

A helicopter was brought in at 8:30am Sunday to assist with the search, as well as a team with a sniffer dog. The dog located the body in the bushes a few metres away from the main road in Baie Nettle on the Lagoon side at 2:00pm. The dog had searched in vain all morning and required a rest. The search resumed at 1:30pm with the dog finding the body a half hour later.

Some 60 Gendarmes were involved in the search on Sunday.

Maignan said a team of 15 detectives and specialists were now working on the investigation around the clock. Gendarmes also have been going from house to house asking whether anyone has information.

“We are appealing to the public if they have any information that can be helpful to the investigation to not hesitate to contact the Gendarmerie by dialling the number 17 or go to the Gendarmerie in La Savane. This particularly applies to persons living between Sandy Ground and the border at Cupecoy who might have seen Wendy or anything suspicious between the hours of 9:00am and 11:00am on Saturday.

“We also want businesses to look at their video surveillance footage to see if Wendy is on it and bring it to the Gendarmerie. This also applies to citizens who might have cell phone footage.”

Asked whether he had any particular advice for the many men and women who practise jogging for exercise, Finielz said the Wendy case appeared tragically to be an isolated one, as crime figures were significantly down.

“Delinquency in the last few months has dropped by 10 per cent and there has been a significant reduction in armed robberies,” he assured. “In 2014 there were 130 to 140 armed robberies and in 2016 you can divide that by two.”