Eddy is dead, tortured and burned alive

I have known Eddy for about six months, my friends for more than 10 years. Eddy, a German man with a beard who was regularly called Santa Claus by children. He was not liked by everyone. He was gruff, stubborn and opinionated but had a genuinely good heart. Eddy is no more; he was horribly murdered. And as with 96 percent of the 25,000 murders every year, this murder will never be solved. Indeed, after his murder, he was also robbed by people in the neighborhood and the police.

In recent years, Eddy lived in Ocumare, a coastal village that has recently suffered greatly from the decline in tourism. His life before that, he had traveled all over the world, and there were many stories about that over a beer. Eddy was well known in Ocumare and somewhat infamous. Eddy dealt in meat and cheese, investing money where it was needed.

25,000 murders a year

Now Eddy is dead; last Saturday they tortured, robbed and set him on fire. Eddy is not alone. In Venezuela, 25,000 people were murdered last year (these are official figures, unofficially the number is higher). 96 percent of these cases are never solved. In the first 10 days of this month, 151 people were killed in the city of Caracas alone. These are only the official figures of corpses that actually arrived at the morgue.

That's where Eddy

In my town there is one 50 km road that goes through the mountains to Ocumare. Sunday morning there was a bike ride which meant I arrived in Ocumare hours later than planned. On the way, the cars of the CICPC (investigation police) and some kind of funeral car were already approaching us. There rode Eddy.

Crime scene investigation.

When I arrive at his house, the police have already left, the gate is still locked but forced on the right side in such a way as to create an entrance. There are people in and around the house. Together with a friend of Eddy's who is already there, I decide to send everyone off the property and have them guard the open gate.

A career in the police was never for me but my distrust of the police investigation here gave me no other choice. I set out to investigate.

The house is a havoc, stuff is everywhere and the fire of the previous night has done its work, it is still warm. Clothes and mattresses are scattered everywhere. But immediately you notice that all valuables are gone: TV, security cameras and 6 motorcycles are nowhere to be found.

The night of the murder.

The perpetrators took their time. They entered through the front door which was protected with a lattice fence. Part of the fence was removed. They found Eddy in one of his bedrooms. The much blood on the floor tells me that they then dragged him to a storage closet. This closet, a kind of large safe in the middle of the house was where Eddy stored everything. His money and other valuables. This is the closet where Eddy was doused with gasoline and set on fire. The adjacent kitchen is full of clothes and paper, little of what was in the closet is left, the fire here got so hot that everything was charred and melted away.

Not only the cameras but also every trace of the security recorder is gone. Among the clutter I find another photo album, and some notes. I decide to take them for his sister, who is currently trying to come here from Germany. 

Late Saturday, neighbors heard Eddy screaming for help. By the time they arrived, it was too late. Neighbors along with the police tried to put out the fire but to no avail.

The corrupt police

Almost all of the missing items were taken by the police "For further investigation." For example, his six motorcycles normally located on the other side of the house were neatly parked in front of the house to be taken away for "investigation" by the CICPC. The cameras were also bolted from their normal spots for examination. Eddy's family will never see this stuff again - it is the early Christmas bonus for the gentlemen of the CICPC.

The morgue

It is late afternoon and I decide to travel back to Maracay, to the morgue where Eddy lies. I hope the body can give me some more clues. The case is sensitive with the police, firstly because it involves a foreigner and secondly because the threats against Eddy in recent years were known to the CICPC but nothing was done. After bribing the person at the morgue, a bag from the cooler is pulled toward me. What is in the bag is not Eddy but a charred piece of meat that has been burned at a high temperature. A body part is missing, possibly lost when they moved him. This was not the last image I wanted of Eddy, but unfortunately it is reality.

Just before his death I had him on the phone; we were to meet the next day.

(This article previously appeared on Blendle)