News
Elizabeth Gonzales
A PRIVATE autopsy on Tuesday revealed that court official Andrea Bharatt died of trauma injuries to her head.
Whether these injuries were caused by a deliberate physical attack, that she fell or was thrown down an abyss remains a mystery.
The autopsy, which was performed a day after an initial examination, was unconvincing – was performed by Prof Hubert Daisley at Boodoo’s Funeral Home in Cunupia.
The first autopsy was done at the Forensic Science Center in St. James, but no cause of death could be determined due to the advanced state of decomposition of the body. Blood and tissue samples were taken for further tests and the body was released after the funeral service.
Daisley was reluctant to speak when Newsday contacted him for comment.
“I’m not really talking to anyone other than my immediate family about my findings,” he said before advising Newsday to speak to Bharatt’s relatives.
However, sources present at the autopsy on Tuesday confirmed that Daisley’s report indicated that bharatt’s death caused blunt trauma to the head.
Social activist Inshan Ishmael posted a video recording via his Facebook page at 1.30pm revealing the findings of the second autopsy. It was Ishmael and restaurateur Jenny Sharma who, along with other concerned private citizens, approached the Bharatt family to pay for a private second autopsy.
In the video, Ishmael said Daisley’s autopsy showed there was bleeding on the inside of Bharatt’s skull. ‘She died of internal bleeding and when she hit her head, she fell backwards. “And what happened was that her skull broke and she died,” Ishmael said, reiterating that he was not a medical expert.
There was uncertainty as to whether the findings of a private autopsy could form the basis of a criminal charge or not, but several legal sources told Newsday that such findings could be used by investigators to resolve a case once the pathologist at the Medical Council is registered. According to sources, the Bharatt family should make the report available to the police.
When Newsday visited the funeral home on Tuesday, Bharatt’s father Randolph was nowhere to be seen. He was at the Forensic Science Center in St James on Monday when the initial autopsy was done.
A tired Bharatt contacted Tuesday for comment, saying it was not a good time for the family and that he preferred not to comment on the findings of the private autopsy.
“There’s no news here, I’m sorry,” he said before ending the call.
Andrea Bharatt, who worked at the Arima Magistrate’s Court, was found dead at the foot of an abyss in the Heights of Aripo on February 4 after being abducted on January 28. She was last seen entering a car that she said was a taxi. on King Street in Arima. It was later found that the car was fitted with fake “H” number plates.
In the wake of her kidnapping and murder, several people, including a woman, were arrested. Two suspects were killed in police custody.
The first was Andrew Morris, who was arrested on January 31 and died on February 1. Police allege he fell out of a chair after refusing food and treatment at Arima General Hospital.
The second suspect, Joel Belcon, allegedly had more than 70 charges against him and died Monday afternoon in the Intensive Care Unit of Eric Williams Medical Science Complex in Hope Hope, where he was taken after being injured while allegedly being arrested. .