THE police have the alias of the man they say is the prime suspect in the brutal rape and murder of 14 year-old Monique Tamara Gray, but say he has gone into hiding.

The naked body of Monique, also known as Tamara, was found in bushes by the side of the Dunbeholden main road outside Kingston on February 11. She had been strangled with a belt, which was not found at the scene, and her clothes were scattered all around her. A plastic bag had been tied around her head, apparently to ensure she would suffocate if she regained consciousness. Semen samples were taken from the body and sent to a forensic laboratory for examination.

Tamara’s funeral will take place today.

No arrest warrant has yet been issued, but the investigating officer at Spanish Town CID told the Observer that police were looking for the man, who was the last person seen with Tamara while she was alive.

The investigating officer at Spanish Town’s rape unit confirmed the man was a suspect. The police say the man is around 27 years old, of fair complexion and about 5′ 7″ tall. But the officer investigating the murder said that although the suspect had been seen once or twice by residents of the Greater Portmore Housing Estate where Tamara lived, the police have been unable to locate him.

Tamara had gone to collect her clothes from the Glenhope Place of Safety where she had been detained for four months as an “uncontrollable juvenile”.

Tamara had been released from Glenhope into her mother’s custody on two years’ probation on February 8, but within 24 hours she was dead.