Derek Achong
Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
A retired nurse has won her lawsuit against the Office of the Police Commissioner over a decision to refuse to disclose details of an investigation into her daughter’s “mysterious” death that was ruled a suicide.
High Court Judge Avason Quinlan-Williams upheld Rosanna Smith’s judicial review lawsuit over the handling of her disclosure request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Justice Quinlan-Williams ruled that the decision to refuse disclosure was unreasonable, irrational, an improper exercise of discretion and an abuse of power.
She granted an order compelling the disclosure within 14 days and ordered the T&T Police Service (TTPS) to pay her $38,925 in legal costs.
According to reports, Smith’s 25-year-old daughter Maria, went missing on October 15, 2021.
Two days later, her body was found in an abandoned vehicle in a forested area near Spring Bridge, Blanchisseuse. She was covered from head to toe with a blanket.
All the windows in the vehicle were closed except one that was partially ajar and had a hose leading to the vehicle’s exhaust.
In the case, Smith claimed she was informed by homicide detectives that her daughter’s death was ruled as a suicide, although the investigation was not closed.
Smith claimed she gained access to her daughter’s backed-up WhatsApp messenger chats and discovered a message thread which revealed a secret inmate relationship with a married relative, who is a police officer.
She claimed that she forwarded the information to investigators but received no update on the probe.
Smith, through her lawyer Martin George, first filed a separate case seeking to compel the TTPS to continue its probe into her daughter’s death.
In response to the first lawsuit, the TTPS indicated that the investigation was still ongoing and investigators were awaiting a toxicology report.
After her requests for an update were ignored earlier this year, she made a FOIA application to Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander to compel the disclosure of information related to the probe.
The request was directed to the TTPS, which agreed to provide an update but merely gave the same information that was provided in response to her initial case, leading to the other case before Justice Quinlan-Williams.
Smith is also represented by Sarah Lawrence, while Deniece Greenidge represented the TTPS.
