Local Unsolved Mysteries TV series soon
by Linda Rutherford
IN ANOTHER month's time, Guyana will have its own version of `Unsolved Mysteries', the US-produced television programme which brought us fleeting fame back in 1996 when an American felon hiding out here was identified from a mugshot and subsequently brought to justice. The brainchild of local journalist, Michael Jordan, the programme will be called `Unsolved Mysteries of Guyana', and will air once weekly for half an hour on a television station yet to be named. The first segment to go on air will be `Jerry Perreira: Portrait of a Killer', the saga of a young brigand who embarked upon a bloody reign of terror, violence and death late last year until his own equally violent demise shortly afterwards. Observing that it still remains a mystery to this day how Perreira died, Jordan said "There are a lot of unanswered questions out there about the whole Jerry Perreira issue," such as, "Why did he do it? What triggered it? Did he act on his own, or was he a hired killer?" Jordan said while the question has been raised time and again about the Police doing a similar programme, he has been quietly working behind the scenes for almost three years, "trying to get the right team together"; a team that is not only sold on his idea but shares the same vision he holds on the production aspect of the show. One of the things he firmly believes in, Jordan pointed out, is that re-enactment is critical to bringing the story alive. He plans doing this with the help of victims' relatives and a few good budding actors and actresses. "I feel it has to have this element of drama...we're actually going back to the crime scenes...", Jordan said. Jordan, whose forte is investigative reporting and who is familiarly referred to "Crime Chief" in some quarters of the media, said that one of his main reasons for embarking upon the project is to help the Police with some of the old unsolved crimes and some present day ones. "I know from experience that they can't do everything," he said. He also knows that persons are more willing to approach a reporter than they would a Policeman, even if they are witnesses to a crime. Secondly, Jordan posited, as a crime reporter, he always felt a sense of guilt whenever a crime goes unsolved. "I feel responsible; I feel that I've let down somebody when a crime goes unsolved because I did not do enough work," he said. Thirdly, Jordan said, "I want to show Guyanese what can be done locally." Contending that Guyanese are often possessed of brilliant ideas but are afraid of expressing their talent, Jordan noted, "This is a way of showing we can do things closely on par with what is being done internationally", adding, "we need people with dreams; we need people with hopes. Don't gripe that the economy bad, just do what you have to do". Among the more famous unsolved crimes he plans tackling are the Monica Reece murder of 1993; the brutal slaying some 23 years ago of 14-year-old Tucville schoolgirl Ann Stewart; the clubbing to death on the Kitty foreshore of popular belly-dancer Dolly Baksh sometime in the late 60s to the early 70s; and the more recent spate of murders of taxi drivers which seems to have ceased as abruptly as it had begun. Jordan, who confessed to have always been fascinated with crime, said of the Ann Stewart murder: "I always want to know who killed Anne Stewart. It still bothers me that somebody out there, whom I may even know, killed her and is walking around free." And in the case of Monica Reece, Jordan stated, "I still get sleepless nights...". Jordan's role of co-producer/director is being shared with local popular playwright Ronald Hollingsworth. Jordan was the recipient of the prestigious Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) award for excellence in Health Journalism in 1994. 
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