REPORT dated December 5, 1974 was submitted in preparation for the Coroner's Inquest proceedings into the deaths of the following persons:

a). Mr. George Duckett, the late Commissioner of Police for Bermuda, who was shot at his private residence, Bleak House, Devonshire on December 9, 1972.

b). Sir Richard Sharples, the late Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Bermuda and his Aide-de-Camp, Captain Hugh Sayers, who were shot whilst in the grounds of Government House, Pembroke on March 10, 1973.

c). Mr. Victor Rego and Mr. Mark Doe, who were shot at the Shopping Centre Supermarket, Victoria Street, Hamilton on April 6, 1973.

Since the submission of (Detective Chief Superintendent Wright's original reports on the killings and associated crime spree) further evidence has been elicited which considerably assisted in bringing these investigations to a successful conclusion.

Mr. Owen Facey, Senior Scientific Officer of the Metropolitan Police Laboratory, London, scientifically identified the pair of wire cutters found in a room formerly being occupied by Erskine Durrant (Buck) Burrows as the tool used to cut the telephone wires at the Piggly Wiggly Plaza, Shelly Bay on September 1, 1973.

Mr. Facey later compared the fine detail on the cutting edges of the wire cutters with the ends of the telephone wire cut at Bleak House prior to the murder of Mr. Duckett.

Insufficient fine detail was found to allow Mr. Facey to make a positive identification, but that present was consistent and sufficient to indicate the wire cutters could have been used. No inconsistent detail was found to suggest the contrary.

On July 16, 1975 Mr. Orange (pseudonym, a friend of Burrows and Tacklyn loosely affiliated with the Black Beret Cadre), aged 26 years, attended Police Headquarters and was interviewed in the presence of his lawyer, Mr. Anthony Palmer of Francis Associates.

Mr. Orange volunteered the first of a series statements to Police in which he implicated Erskine Durrant Burrows in the murder of Mr. George Duckett.

He related how on March 10, 1973 at about 6.30 p.m. he went to the basement apartment of his parents' house at Harris Bay and there saw the occupier, Larry Winfield Tacklyn, with Erskine Durrant Burrows.

Mr. Orange saw that Burrows was holding a .22 revolver and Tacklyn a .38 revolver. He also noticed both weapons were loaded and further ammunition for same was contained in a plastic bag lying on the sofa.

Tacklyn introduced Mr. Orange to Burrows by saying, "This is my man, Buck, the guy that took care of Duckett". Burrows smiled in response to this introduction.

Mr. Orange was invited to hold and inspect the .38 revolver held by Tacklyn, but when he turned to look at the weapon held by Burrows, the latter told him, "No one handles this gun but me. This is my personal weapon."

Fortunately, Mr. Orange has a keen interest in and sound knowledge of firearms and when subsequently shown the Schmidt .22 revolver (Duckett murder weapon), by Police on July 16, 1975 he immediately identified same as the revolver held by Burrows.

By this identification, Burrows is proved to have been in possession of the Duckett murder weapon some three months before he handed same to (two associates) to sell on his behalf . . . and only six months after the murder was committed.

In his statement to Police, Mr. Orange also incriminated Burrows and Tacklyn in the murders of Sir Richard Sharples and Captain Hugh Sayers at Government House on March 10, 1973 and of Mr. Victor Rego and Mr. Mark Doe at the Shopping Centre supermarket on April 6, 1973.

As previously discussed, a meeting between Mr. Orange, Tacklyn and Burrows occurred at about 6.30 p.m. on March 10, 1973, this being some five hours before Sir Richard Sharples and Captain Sayers were shot and fatally wounded in the grounds of Government House.

Examination of the bodies and the spent bullets recovered from the scene of the murders suggested both had been shot by the same weapon, which was believed to be a .38 revolver. The three bullets recovered were .38 Special ammunition.

When invited to inspect Tacklyn's handgun, Mr. Orange saw it was a loaded, dark-coloured revolver in good condition and that the rifling in the barrel had a right-hand twist. It appeared to be of .38 calibre. Further ammunition for this and the weapon held by Burrows on this occasion was contained in a plastic bag lying on the sofa.

Soon after Mr. Orange entered the basement apartment and before being introduced to Burrows, Tacklyn told him, "We are planning a mission."

Tacklyn later continued, "We are going to take care of the man on the hill. We are going to take care of all these devils."

Mr. Orange understood the "man on the hill" to be His Excellency the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Bermuda.

In response to a comment by Mr. Orange to the effect they must be crazy, Tacklyn said, "We've got to do what we must do". Mr. Orange left the apartment to prepare a meal and when he returned some 30 minutes later discovered both men had left the premises. Later that evening he heard on the radio that Sir Richard Sharples and Captain Sayers had been assassinated.

The following morning, March 11, 1973, at about 8 a.m. Mr. Orange was in the driveway of the house at Harris Bay and cleaning his motor car when Tacklyn returned alone and on foot, carrying a brown paper parcel.

Tacklyn appeared to be very excited and said, "Did you hear about it?"

Realising he meant the murders, Mr. Orange replied, "Yes, did you get rid of your clothing?"

Tacklyn indicated he had disposed of his clothing and the firearm.

In a highly excited manner, Tacklyn said, "Man, you should have been there. They walked right across in front of us. I took care of them and one tried to run. You should have seen their faces."

Tacklyn continued: "The dog, a big one (the Governor's Great Dane, Horsa), tried to get me and Buck took care of him. The Police came so fast they were all over the place. I almost fell down a hole getting away. I didn't know Buck's Mobylette was so fast."

Anxious not to involve himself or his family, Mr. Orange asked him to vacate the apartment and later that day discovered Tacklyn had removed most of his personal effects, leaving only a few items of clothing behind.

Subsequently Mr. Orange saw Tacklyn on two or three occasions when the latter visited the house, but no further conversation relevant to this matter ensued. Burrows continued to visit Mr. Orange at Harris Bay and was permitted to enter and leave freely, but at no time made mention of the murders.

On a date in August, 1973 Mr. Orange had occasion to inspect the interior plumbing of the basement apartment at Harris Bay and there found a brown paper package hidden behind two drain pipes. Upon opening the package he found it to contain a black .38 revolver, a .22 revolver and a number of rounds of .38 and .22 ammunition.

He immediately recognised the .38 revolver as that shown to him by Tacklyn prior to the murders at Government House. The quantity of ammunition also appeared the same as seen that day. However the .22 revolver was not the weapon referred to by Burrows as "my personal weapon."

Concerned of being implicated should the firearms be found by Police, Mr. Orange borrowed a boat and dropped the weapons and ammunition into the sea at a point south of Castle Point.

Returning to the basement apartment, Mr. Orange found a further round of .38 ammunition which had apparently fallen from the package as he removed it from behind the pipes. He has since handed this item to Police and it has been identified as being of .38 Special calibre.

A few days later he visited HM Prison, Casemates, and there saw Larry Tacklyn who at that time was serving a prison sentence for armed robbery.

At the prison, Mr. Orange complained to Tacklyn about the firearms found in the basement apartment. Tacklyn replied, "I don't know anything about any guns, and neither do you. Just stand firm."

In Mr. Orange's opinion, the package found in the apartment was not that carried by Tacklyn on March 11, 1973 and therefore any assumption as to how or when it was placed there must be conjecture.

Some indication may be assumed from another shooting incident which occurred in Bermuda at 2.15 a.m. on August 1, 1973, when a taxi driver, Mr. Ernest Donvell Burgess, was robbed and shot twice at Fort Langton, Devonshire.

One spent bullet was recovered from the scene of this offence and when ballistically examined proved to have been fired from the same weapon responsible for the murders at Government House. Whilst Burrows remains a strong suspect, no person has been arrested for this crime.

However, as Tacklyn was sentenced to a long term of imprisonment on July 22, 1973 it may be considered safe to assume he left Burrows in possession of the weapon and that the latter person was responsible for placing it in Mr. Orange's apartment.

Following his interview with Police, Mr. Orange indicated the location where he disposed of the two revolvers and ammunition some 23 months earlier. However, a search of the area by Police and US Navy divers proved negative. It was found the depth of the water at the point indicated varied from 80 feet to 240 feet over a broken, rocky and undulating sea-bed, making the likelihood of locating any small item highly improbable.

On July 2, 1975, Winslow Durrant, a Bermudian aged 35 years, was interviewed at Fox Hill Prison, Nassau, Bahamas, where he was serving a term of imprisonment for importation of dangerous drugs.

Durrant was interviewed in connection with his possession of a .32 revolver, identified as the Shopping Centre murder weapon.

During the course of his interview, Durrant admitted selling three firearms in Bermuda on behalf of (a sometime associate of Buck Burrows called) Michael Hollis in August, 1973. The weapons sold were a .32 revolver, a .38 revolver and .45 revolver respectively. The latter described weapon has no relevance to these investigations.

Durrant related how on a day in August, 1973 he was approached by Hollis to sell firearms on a commission basis, and how Hollis visited his private address and handed him a fully-loaded .38 revolver. He described the weapon as black in colour and in good condition.

The following day Durrant sold the .38 to a friend at Spanish Point for $100. He handed this sum of money to Hollis, who gave him $25.

About a week later Hollis asked Durrant to retrieve the .38 revolver because it was "hot" and had been used in murder. Durrant endeavoured to do so but the man he sold it to refused to part with it.

Hollis insisted it be returned and consequently, with another man, George Atkins, persuaded Durrant to take them to his friend's address. There Hollis and the man who had purchased the weapon conferred in a bedroom from which Hollis returned carrying the .38 revolver. Durrant did not see the firearm again.

Following the information obtained from Durrant, Hollis was interviewed at Police Headquarters on July 7, 1975. There he admitted obtaining four firearms from Erskine Burrows and selling them on his behalf during the summer of 1973. All four firearms were revolvers, being of .22, .32, .38 and .45 calibre respectively. In general terms Hollis corroborated the statement of Durrant, and explained how soon after receiving the .38 revolver from Burrows and handing same to Durrant, Burrows demanded its return. Burrows informed Hollis the gun was "hot" and the latter would suffer if he did not return it.

Hollis confirmed how with Atkins and Durrant he went to a house in Spanish Point and how there he persuaded the man who had bought the gun to resell the revolver for $225. Hollis then handed the firearm to Atkins to return to Burrows that evening.

George Atkins was interviewed by Police on July 7, 1975 and confirmed how the revolver was handed back to Hollis by the purchaser and that he later returned the same weapon, wrapped in a paper bag, to Erskine Burrows.

Whilst no evidence has been elicited to ascertain the present whereabouts of this .38 revolver, there can be little doubt it was the same revolver dropped into the sea by Mr. Orange. The period of time when Burrows sold and later repossessed the weapon coincides with the time Mr. Orange found and disposed of same.

Similarly, there can be little doubt this weapon was used to assassinate Sir Richard Sharples and Captain Hugh Sayers. Mr. Orange's description of the right-hand twist rifling in the barrel of the revolver held by Tacklyn on March 10, 1973 is corroborated by ballistic evidence indicating the murder weapon had a rifling consisting of six right-hand twists.

Support to this assumption may be found in the comments of Burrows to Hollis, when the former indicated the weapon was "hot" and had been used in murder and by his determination to retrieve same.

Considerable reference (has already been made) to the evidence of John Henry Williams (a career criminal and something of a surrogate father to Larry Tacklyn) in relation to a conversation he had with Tacklyn in July of 1973.

In the course of this conversation Tacklyn admitted he and another, unnamed person murdered Sir Richard Sharples and Captain Sayers and described the method used to effect same.

Much of the described detail accorded with the facts which could only have been known to one of the assassins or the investigators.

Similarly, it must be considered the evidence of Mr. Orange is also corroborated by known facts. Tacklyn's admission that one of the victims tried to run away and that the dog, Horsa, was shot from the position used by the assailants to effect the murders is supported by blood trails and from the position in which the bullet responsible for killing the animal was found.

Following his arrest in May, 1973, Tacklyn refused to be interviewed in respect of the Government House and Shopping Centre murders. Whenever these subjects were mentioned, he became irrational, violent and shouted racial abuse.

One further interview occurred following the finding of the .32 revolver (used in the commission of the Shopping Centre murders and given to Winslow Durrant to sell ¿ a weapon he retained possession of and buried in the garden of a friend's house where it was later discovered by Police).

But after denying involvement in any murders, Tacklyn again became uncontrollable and impossible to converse with.

To be continued