A hammer is what police believe was used to kill Kareen Ramlal whose decomposing body was found in Penal on Sunday, six days after she went missing.
Ramlal’s murder occurred eight months after she was released from prison having served a short sentence for the murder of her husband Anil Jadoo, whom she poisoned. He was then bludgeoned to death with the help of Geewan Pardassie and Ramdaye Ramlal.
Sobbing quietly, Ramlal’s daughter Kerryann Jadoo said she was having a difficult time accepting that her mother will never come back.
“All of the family was here. I didn’t sleep last night,” Kerryann said yesterday.
She added: “Everybody is still in shock.”
A man with whom Ramlal was last seen, remains on the run.
“ The man is not in custody. They are looking at him, he is considered a suspect,” a source said.
Ramlal’s partially decomposed body is at the Forensic Science Centre and once a COVID-19 test is done, the autopsy will be arranged, police disclosed.
Investigators said Ramlal worked as a security guard and had started putting her life back together after being in prison for almost eight years. When she came out of prison in December, she found work in a roti shop. She later got a job as a security officer and had a close bond with Kerryann and her brother Kevon Ramlal, 24.
After finishing work on Sunday, Ramlal went to her Orange Grove Trace, Pasea, Tunapuna apartment where she changed her clothes and then went out to meet a friend at Penal.
She did not report to work on Tuesday and her daughter later lodged a missing person report.
The Hunters Search and Rescue team led by Captain Vallence Rambharat was contacted and a search was mounted.
Speaking to Guardian Media, Rambharat said it was distressing to know that a young working mother was killed in such a heinous manner.
“The Joint Search effort between the TTPS and the Hunters Search and Rescue team was a well-coordinated effort. Insp Junior Marcelle and I worked overnight and came up with a detailed search plan. Cpl Rudy Seecharan of the Penal Police provided crucial intelligence which led us to alter search plans and focus on a specific area,” Rambharat said.
At 2:32 pm on Sunday, he revealed a black tarpaulin was spotted in a bamboo grove off Bobb Trace, Penal Rock Road.
Ramlal’s body had been neatly wrapped in the tarpaulin. The murder weapon, a hammer was found close by along with a bottle of perfume and an empty beer bottle.
“For the first time, one of our members broke down and cried. It appeared to be a murder, most heinous and gruesome and one cannot help but imagine the final moments of the one who was murdered,” Rambharat said.
He praised the police for their work and said the Hunters Search and Rescue team will continue to look for the people who go missing in T&T.
Anyone with information on Ramlal’s killing can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS.