BVI Police offer reward in murder of Dominican national

St. Thomas, BVI – The Royal Virgin Islands Police Force is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the person or persons responsible for the murder of Yeiral Batista Sena.

Three months have passed since the body of Yeiral Batista Sena, 32, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, was found in his hotel room at the Fort Burt Hotel on July 1, 2014.

Mr. Batista Sena resided in St. Thomas and was travelling to the Dominican Republic via Tortola when he met his death. He had been on Tortola since the June 25 and had planned to fly out to the Dominican Republic on the day he was found dead.

Major Crime detectives are seeking information from anyone who met with Mr. Batista Sena or has any information that will assist the investigation into his murder.

Detectives believe that Mr. Batista Sena was involved in criminality in St. Thomas and his death is connected with that criminality. Mr. Batista Sena was last seen in the early evening of Monday, June 30, 2014.

A reward of up to $100,000 is offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the person or persons responsible for the murder of Yeiral Batista Sena.

Lesser rewards will also be paid for information that assists police in advancing the investigation. Reward payment amounts will be decided by the Commissioner of Police.

The Head of the Crime Division Detective Superintendent Alexis Charles noted that detectives have linked with law enforcement in the USVI in their investigation into this case.

“We have been working very closely with our law enforcement colleagues in St Thomas. This was not some random act of violence; it was a carefully planned killing. The reward of $100,000 is an incentive to encourage persons to come forward and provide information that advances the investigation. We believe the shooter must have had very specific information in order to target Mr. Batista Sena. We suspect that information that could advance the investigation may be held by those with knowledge of the criminal community,’’ he said.

Mr. Charles noted that there is somebody, somewhere who has the information needed to detect this crime and bring some measure of peace to the victim’s family. “$100,000 is a substantial sum of money,” he said.

Persons with information are asked to contact the detectives from the Major Crime Team at 1-284-468-5682. All information will be treated in the strictest in confidence. Attention is also drawn to the Witness Protection Scheme introduced under the Justice Protection Act 2011. Rewards are also payable to persons outside of the British Virgin Islands.

The victim’s families in St. Thomas are being kept updated by the Family Liaison Officer.