Philipsburg: --- Members of the RST and Federal Detectives have detained officer Germaine Semeleer who has been on suspension for over a year now as they investigate the brutal murder of Christian Lloyd. Officer Semeleer was involved in the kidnapping of some prostitutes from Crystal Bar sometime ago. He was convicted in the court of First Instance and has since appealed.Lloyd was found dead in his St. Peters home on January 25th 2010; police said Lloyd was found on his bed covered in blood. To date police have not released the types of injuries that killed the well known pageant trainer. An autopsy was scheduled to take place on Tuesday to determine the cause of death.
Sources told SMN News that police got information about the alleged killer the same day they went to the murder scene to remove the body of Christian Lloyd. SMN News learnt that the "village boys" of St. Peters gave police detailed information about the suspended officer whose car was seen leaving the crime scene. Police also intercepted the victim's phone records and saw that officer Semeleer was the last person that allegedly spoke to Lloyd prior to his death.
SMN News learnt that the police internal affairs on St. Maarten started an investigation on the alleged suspect the moment they were notified. However, the case has been transferred to Curacao. It is not clear if Semeleer willingly surrendered to police and left with the officers to his native island of Curacao and is cooperating with the ongoing investigations.
SMN News carried an article on Friday evening explaining that that there have been consistent rumors within the community of St. Maarten linking a suspended officer to one of the recent murders, but police and the prosecutor's office were tightlipped about the investigation.
In an invited comment Prosecutor Rienk Mud said no one was arrested in the murder of Christian Lloyd but several persons are being heard (questioned) by the police as the investigations proceed. Mud said he would not be giving any comment on the ongoing investigations since it is very much in its early stages.
The St. Maarten Police Department (KPSSS) have had its fair share of negativity from within the force causing long serving and dedicated officers of the force to face shame and disgrace. The court of first instance convicted several immigration officers, including the former head of immigration and the Chief Commissioner of Police for corruption, forgery and bribery. Officers were also convicted for taking bribes and extortion but this is the first time an officer has been detained in a murder investigation.
SMN News also learnt that officer Semeleer was in a relationship with the victim as well as with one of his colleagues working at SLAC office stationed at the Simpson Bay Police Outpost.
While SMN News has reported that officer Semeleer is on suspension from the police force it is not clear if he has been officially fired from the force. SMN News is receiving conflicting information on the working status of Semeleer since both the police and prosecutor's office has refused to elaborate on the suspect and the investigation. Officer Semeleer was convicted for illegal house search, and he appealed the verdict. It is still not clear if the case has been finalized in the judicial system of the Netherlands Antilles.
Presently reporters on St. Maarten have to rely on information they receive on the streets since law enforcement is not releasing any type of information to the media. It is however, very difficult for media outlets to publish accurate information without the cooperation of both the police and the public prosecutor's office.
Due to the lack of information there were rumors throughout the community of St. Maarten on Tuesday linking brigadier Giovanni Sprott to this murder investigation. Members of the community went as far as publishing Sprott's name on Facebook claiming that he was arrested for this ongoing investigation. Currently Sprott is on sick leave and has spoken to this reporter several times on Tuesday. When contacted about the recent incident he said that people went very far because they contacted his mother and told her he was arrested for murder. "This caused my mom to fall sick, people also contacted my daughter who is studying abroad with the same information Sprott said people should get their facts straight before smearing anyone.
