Almost two months after the decomposing and decapitated body of a woman believed to be Jamie Mohammed was found in Siparia, relatives are still awaiting DNA confirmation.
“We just want closure. We need to know if it is her or if we have to start searching again,” lamented Mohammed’s sister-in-law Evelyn Chattoo yesterday.
She said in November, DNA samples were taken from Mohammed’s 74-year-old mother, but since then they have received no feedback. An officer told her that DNA results could take a week to a year. Since the discovery of the body, she said, the family has had a dark cloud hanging over them and spent a gloomy Christmas.
Chattoo said, “We were hoping by Christmas we would get the body; unfortunately, no one has contacted the family. We did not get the body.”
While they believed the body belonged to Mohammed based on her sneakers, she said they were told another woman was missing from that area.
“So the problem is that we don’t know if it is true or not. At the ending of the day, everything just went cold, and we not getting any feedback about the investigation,” she said.
Chattoo said the stress had also taken a toll on her mother-in-law’s health, as her heart was racing, she had developed insomnia, and now has visions of Mohammed.
“She keeps saying she is seeing Jamie. The mother keeps hearing Jamie’s voice all the time. That is the part that has me really sad. She keeps hearing Jamie’s voice, and she answering her, ‘Yes, yes.’ And now others are also saying that they are dreaming of Jamie. I think their worries need to be put to rest.”
As they await official confirmation, she said the family was in a “bit of tug-of-war” with some wanting to resume searches and others wanting to wait on the DNA results.
“A lot of confusion and drama is coming out of the waiting,” she lamented, adding, “I hope that someone contacts us soon and lets us know what is happening.”
She said they had already made funeral arrangements and printed jerseys, as they planned to have a vigil.
The 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 pants pulled down to the knees.
The body was found about half a mile away from Ramphy’s Bar in Siparia, where Mohammed’s 70-year-old common-law husband had dropped her off on October 18 to lime with 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 together with the Vallence Rambharat-led Hunters’ Search and Rescue Team.
A homicide officer said they were still awaiting the DNA results. Homicide Bureau Region III detectives are investigating.
