Dead at First Sight

76 Wednesday 10 October

‘Third interview with Dunstan Ogwang, in the presence of his solicitor, Alison Watts, Detective Superintendent Grace and Detective Sergeant Potting,’ Roy Grace said to the camera. Then he addressed the suspect. ‘Mr Ogwang, so far in your previous interviews you have remained silent, which you are entitled to do. I’ll remind you that you are under caution. You have been arrested on suspicion of causing Grievous Bodily Harm with Intent. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Is that clear?’

Ogwang faced him off in sullen silence.

His solicitor said, ‘Detective Superintendent, my client has told me that he will not answer any questions.’

‘Understood, but I’m going to give your client one more chance to change his mind.’ He turned back to Ogwang. ‘When you were arrested last night, according to the arresting officer you had in your possession a machete. There was what appeared to be fresh blood on the blade. Would you like to say anything about that? Any explanation?’

‘No comment.’

‘I have just received from the Surrey and Sussex Police’s Forensic department the DNA analysis of the blood on your knife. It is an exact match with the blood of a gentleman who was attacked in his home a short while — in fact just minutes — before you were arrested. In this attack his hand was first pinned to a chopping board by a kitchen knife and subsequently it was severed by a machete. Are you following me?’

Again Ogwang faced him off.

‘The victim has identified you. Is there anything you would like to tell me?’

Alison Watts said, sharply, ‘I’ve already told you my client is not prepared to answer any questions.’

‘I did hear you,’ Grace said. ‘I’m still entitled to ask him questions from which inferences may be drawn. Is your client aware of the gravity of this offence? That Grievous Bodily Harm with Intent carries a potentially similar sentence to murder? That he could be looking at twenty years or more in prison?’

‘I will explain this to my client.’

‘Ms Watts, just so we are under no illusions here about the situation, as has already been mentioned by my colleague Detective Inspector Branson in an earlier interview, Kofi Okonjo is the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for atrocities committed in the Sierra Leone war for independence at the start of this century. We have seen the photograph they have of him and I can confirm it is your client.’

Grace was enjoying the solicitor’s clear discomfort. To her credit she remained poker-faced.

‘I’m not prepared to disclose any confidential discussions I have had with my client,’ she said.

Grace turned back to Ogwang. ‘We believe you are working with a colleague or an accomplice. We also believe that the pair of you are not working alone. I cannot promise you any kind of immunity or special treatment, but if you were willing to cooperate and give us information, I can tell you that a judge would take that into consideration in any future sentence you might receive if found guilty of this offence. Have a think, there’s no rush.’ He turned to Watts. ‘Would you like to consider this? If you need further time with your client, we can suspend this interview.’

Ogwang glanced at his solicitor.

‘As I’ve already made clear, my client will not answer any questions. Do what you need to do, which I presume will be to charge my client,’ she said.

Grace looked once more at the big, round, dead eyes of Ogwang. Then he glanced at the clock and addressed the camera above them. ‘Interview with Dunstan Ogwang terminated at 12.09 p.m.’