Senior Reporter
shane.superville@guardian.co.tt
More than a month after human remains were found in the backyard of her family home in Valsayn, DNA testing has confirmed that the bones were, in fact, those of 18-year-old Hannah Mathura.
However, there are still some critical gaps in the police’s investigation into the matter which may prevent any charges from being laid for now.
Police sources said yesterday that investigators received the results of the DNA test sometime between Wednesday and Thursday last week and approached Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard on Friday for advice in the ongoing matter.
However, sources said detectives were told to continue working on establishing more facts surrounding Mathura’s death and securing possible evidence.
Earlier reports which suggested the bones were believed to be those of a man were thus ruled as false readings.
The tests were done on the bone marrow and biological tissue-like cartilage remaining from decomposed skeletal remains. Samples from Hanna’s siblings were used to verify her family lineage.
Earlier this month, the remains were taken to the Port-of- Spain General Hospital for X-Ray analysis to determine the density and structure of the bones.
The remains, one source said, were also in a tube top, a pair of underwear and red pants.
According to details of the matter thus far, one of Mathura’s relatives told police that she was killed and buried in the backyard in June 2017.
One source close to the case said one challenge in investigating Mathura’s death was the length of time between her burial and the discovery of her remains.
He noted that material evidence, like a possible murder weapon, a shovel used in the burial or other items, were not available to the investigating officers.
“When you consider the absence of these items and the fact that the body would have been there for seven years with the area exposed to the elements... it’s a difficult matter to probe,” the source said.
Mathura’s parents were arrested shortly after her remains were found but later released pending further enquiries.
Mathura’s siblings have since sought legal representation and have cooperated with police in the enquiry.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Sanjiv Boodhu, one of the attorneys representing the Mathura siblings, said he was not aware of the latest development and did not have any instructions from his clients.
Boodhu added that he may receive information from the police today and would not be able to advise his clients until he received direct confirmation from officers.
Boodhu and Sasha Paula Singh are representing the Mathura siblings.