The father of 13-year-old Christiana High School student Shantina Sergeant remains in police custody, but no formal charges have been laid against him. Lawrence Sergeant was taken into custody on Friday in Old Harbour, St Catherine, after being named a person of interest. Police continued their investigation this week by questioning Lawrence in the presence of his attorney.
Along with being interviewed on Monday, DNA samples were taken from the father and another relative. According to a senior police source, officials are now awaiting the results of the DNA testing and forensic analysis to officially confirm the teen’s identity.
“We are still awaiting certain investigative processes… because we are dealing with charred remains,” the source explained.
Meanwhile, a post-mortem examination has already revealed that Shantina’s cause of death was blunt force trauma. The teen was found several days ago inside a refrigerator behind her father’s home in Baillieston, Clarendon.
The gruesome discovery was made when police investigated a burnt-out refrigerator that was covered with a zinc sheet. The discovery shocked the community, where residents expressed their disbelief in footage that captured Lawrence’s arrest. He was seen being escorted away in handcuffs by officers with his face concealed.
Police sources have indicated that, while they are confident about the identity of the remains, they want to complete all forensic verifications before confirming it officially. “We just want to confirm all of that before we properly identify the body. Even though at this stage we have no doubt,” the source said.
Lawrence had reported his daughter missing after she allegedly did not return home from school. After police discovered the body, Lawrence disappeared, and he was named the person of interest. Before he was captured, his former partner recalled that she saw signs that Shantina was in danger, and she made a report to the police, but nothing came from it.
