Senior Reporter
shane.superville@guardian .co.tt
Homicide detectives probing the murder of 18-year-old Hannah Mathura may approach Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) sometime today (Sunday) to seek advice on whether a male relative will be charged.
Mathura’s remains were found in the backyard of her family’s Butu Street, Valsayn South, home on Tuesday after a 26-year-old relative reported it to police.
The male relative, who is the main suspect in her murder was arrested a day later at an El Dorado apartment.
Police said the 66-year-old man was interviewed by investigators for the first time on Friday but was said to be acting “unusual”.
A psychologist is expected to be called in to assess whether the suspect is mentally competent to be interviewed by police.
Sources also disclosed that the man’s medical history will also be reviewed as he is believed to have sought psychological help in the past to deal with trauma.
Guardian Media understands that officers from the Region II homicide bureau visited the family’s home on Friday to interview relatives and photograph the scene where Mathura’s body was found.
One officer said as Mathura was never reported missing, it meant that police officers must now begin their investigation “from scratch”.
“It’s not like there was a missing person’s report beforehand where we could have had a baseline set of information to work with. We have to begin everything from stage one in terms of inquiries and investigations.
“It’s very labour-intensive but it’s also very time-sensitive, there has been communication with other partners on an ongoing basis.”
The source added that a female relative was also being interviewed up to yesterday evening about what happened to Mathura.
The relative who reported the incident to police said Mathura was buried at the home sometime around July 2017.
Little is known about Mathura’s life as there are no known government records of her existence.
However, multiple neighbours said she was a person with a disability.
