Samples from remains found at Turkeyen to be sent for DNA analysis this week – Crime Chief

Crime Chief Leslie James yesterday said the samples taken from the skeletal remains of a woman found along the Turkeyen Road last month, and from the parents of missing teacher Nyozi Goodman, will be sent overseas for analysis this week.

Goodman’s parents are waiting restlessly for the results and had stated that the police had promised to send the samples overseas three weeks ago, when they first took blood tests. Her father told Stabroek News that they were anxious about the results and the delay was frustrating.

He said his wife had identified a green belt found at the crime scene, where the skeleton was discovered, as their daughter’s property. However, they were still in the dark because of the delay.

“We are waiting on the DNA tests to tell us if that is our daughter so that we can have some closure,” he said. “I don’t believe she is alive. I think she is gone.”

Nyozi Goodman
Nyozi Goodman

However, James stated that police have not concluded their investigation. “We have not closed our eyes on this investigation,” he said.

A post-mortem examination, performed on-site the morning after the body was found, gave the cause of death as incised wounds to the abdomen.

The discovery of the skeletal remains on July 24th had triggered speculation that it was the body of the missing St. Stanislaus teacher, who vanished after taking her students to a basketball game at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. Goodman had reportedly told her students that she was waiting for someone to pick her up.

Two persons were initially arrested in connection with her disappearance but were released later. One of the men was believed to be a suspect in the disappearance of Lance Corporal Patriena Nicholson, who vanished mid-last year. She was last seen at a Republic Bank ATM at the Kitty GuyOil Gas Station.

At the crime scene a rotten tooth was discovered on the body. The corpse was believed to be about five feet, five inches tall and between ages of 25 and 40 years old. According to Goodman’s brother Nestor Thompson his sister had a similar tooth. However, they were unable to identify the body because of the state of the decay.