DEREK ACHONG
Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
A retired nurse has been given the green light to sue 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 yesterday granted Rosanna Smith leave to pursue a judicial review case over the handling of her disclosure request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
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 a press release issued yesterday, Smith’s lawyer, Martin George, stated that his client was informed by homicide detectives that her daughter’s death was ruled a suicide, although the investigation was not closed.
He said that several months later, Smith gained access to her daughter’s backed-up WhatsApp messenger chats and discovered a message thread that revealed a secret inmate relationship with a married relative, who is a police officer.
He claimed that she forwarded the information to investigators but received no update on the probe.
“She was routinely stone-walled, ignored, or brushed off with the standard response that the investigation was still ongoing,” George said.
He said that last year, Smith filed a case seeking to compel the T&T Police Service (TTPS) to continue its probe into her daughter’s death.
In response to the lawsuit, the TTPS indicated that the investigation was still ongoing and that investigators were awaiting a toxicology report.
George noted that after his client’s 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.
“The ‘update’ provided her with no real update on steps taken, things done, statements recorded, interviews done, swabs and samples taken, photographs taken, measurements done, analyses and examinations done in pursuit of or in furtherance of the investigation of the matter involving her daughter’s death,” George said.
“She also pointed out that after four years of ‘investigating’ her daughter’s death, the TTPS has not said if any DNA swabs or samples were taken from Maria or from the police officer or from any other person,” he added.
He also noted that the TTPS further indicated that it was exempted under the FOIA from disclosing investigative reports and witness statements, as such could compromise the probe.
In the lawsuit, Smith is contending that the TTPS breached its duty under the FOIA.
The lawsuit is scheduled to come up for hearing on February 2, next year.
Smith is also being represented by Sarah Lawrence.
