Relatives of Nazleen Mohammed whose decomposing remains were found in a Linden coal pit in 2007 feel that they have not had justice in the case.
“She was murdered brutally. She wasn’t good any more,” her sister Jenny told this newspaper during an emotional interview recently in which she said they wanted justice so that they could get closure.
Jenny who was out at the time of the murder said that her then 22-year-old sister left their Lot 1, East Ruimveldt home with her bag, jewellery and passport in the company of a man and another woman on February 2, 2007. She said that the trio were headed to Cayenne, French Guiana but she could not say for what reason.
She was adamant that the man and her sister were just friends. Jenny stated that whenever they travelled outside of Guyana, once arriving at the destination, contact would immediately be made with relatives here.
The woman related that after not hearing from her from a while, her mother expressed concern to a family friend who was a policewoman. The policewoman, Jenny said, told her that the unidentified body of a woman had been found in Linden but the family should not be alarmed. However if they wanted to satisfy themselves that it wasn’t Mohammed, then they should go to the police with a photograph.
Shortly afterwards she recalled that her mother travelled to Linden and when she made contact was unable to speak because she was crying on the phone saying, “Look how meh daughta get kill.” According to Jenny, her sister’s body was so badly decomposed that not a great deal more than her skeleton remained. Her mother was able to positively identify her by the tattoo of a flower on her navel. She added that her sister had been bound from her toes to her ankles and then to her wrist.
She said that because of the state of the body and the fact that no one had come forward to claim it, her sister had been buried.
The woman told Stabroek News that the death rocked her mother to the point that she lost her sight.
About fourteen months later, she added the man who had left with her sister was nabbed in neighbouring Suriname and later handed over to the Guyana Police. She said he was later charged and made court appearances in Linden. He was then committed to stand trial for the murder and before the case commenced, Jenny said that relatives were informed.
She said that because of her mother’s deteriorating health she was unable to attend court to testify but she ensured that she was present on every occasion the matter was heard.
Jenny recalled that on the Monday she arrived at court late but when she got there she heard the judge saying that the case would be a no submission case. Shortly after that the prosecutor turned to her and said that the accused would be leaving court a free man.
Jenny told Stabroek News that she was in such shock that she started to cry. Justice Franklyn Holder had instructed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty since the prosecution had failed to make out a prima facie case.
Mohammed’s father Fazil broke down in tears as he spoke to Stabroek News. He said that his daughter’s murder is very hard on him as they did not part on good terms. Fazil said that the night his daughter left, they had an argument. He recalled that the man who accompanied her was no stranger to him and had arrived at the house around 7 o’clock.
“She did not even tell me that she was going somewhere,” he sobbed, noting that he was sitting at the front of the yard when she left.
He wanted justice for his daughter who was the youngest of his five children he said.
“They beat meh daughta like an eel. Like she get lash to her head first. She get a cruel death,” he told Stabroek News. This newspaper has learnt that the four gold capped teeth that were in Mohammed’s mouth were missing when she was found.
Relatives believe that Mohammed was killed for her jewellery. They said that they want to pursue the matter but did not know to whom they must turn for assistance.
“The government has let us down, politicians let we ain’t getting no justice,” Jenny sobbed as she stressed that the girl that left with Mohammed is the key to cracking the case. The last they heard was that she had been overcome by mental illness and is living somewhere in French Guiana.
