Murder victim’s relatives still awaiting autopsy
Relatives of Jamie Mohammed must wait until forensic procedures are concluded on the decomposing headless body found in Siparia last week, before it is released to them.
“How long is it going to be? A month? Two months?” questioned her sister-in-law, Evelyn Chattoo, during a telephone interview.
Based on the clothing on the body, the relatives are certain it is Mohammed, but the police say confirmation is needed.
The family members went to the Forensic Science Centre (FSC) on Tuesday, but the body was not there. When Mohammed’s 74-year-old mother, her two siblings, and her common-law husband returned to the FSC yesterday, they could not view the body due to its condition.
Chattoo said the relatives expected to have swabs taken for DNA testing, but that did not happen. Instead, they were told someone would contact them.
Upset over the delay and Mohammed’s mother making the long journey twice, Chattoo complained:
“So they just have us running up and down, taking time off from work.”
She said they were told it would take three weeks or more to get the results even if DNA samples were taken soon.
Chattoo said the church and burial plot have been arranged, but they need Mohammed’s body. She appealed to the authorities to expedite the process so they could bury her.
“I think if I am to speak on behalf of the family that number one, there’s no closure,” she lamented.
“We struggle to find her. First, she was missing—that was a heartbreaking part—and then we found her. It kind of gave us some closure but then now we can’t bury her or we can’t do what we need to do to get final closure. It’s like we have her and we’re losing her again,” she pointed out, adding, “How long we’re going to have to wait for? We just want Jamie home now.”
Meanwhile, Chattoo said they provided all the information they had to the police, which led to the retrieval of footage. She complained, however, that the police only communicated with Mohammed’s common-law husband and left the rest of the family in the dark regarding the investigation.
The decapitated body was discovered by a hunter in a bushy area off Murray Trace, Siparia, on November 14, almost a month after Mohammed went missing. A skull was found next to the body, which was clad in a leopard-coloured top and a pair of shorts pulled down to the left knee.
The body was found about half a mile from Ramphy’s Bar in Siparia, where Jamie Mohammed’s 70-year-old common-law husband had dropped her off on October 18 to meet friends. She never returned home.
On November 11, Mohammed’s common-law husband reported her missing to the police, and he informed her relatives, who began searching for her with the Vallence Rambharat-led Hunters Search and Rescue Team.
Investigators confirmed yesterday that no one has been arrested.
Officers from the Homicide Bureau Region 3 are investigating.
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