Harbour Bridge jumper drowned

A post-mortem examination conducted on the remains of Nalini DeAgrella, who leapt to her death off of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) on Tuesday morning, revealed that she drowned.

According to a police release, the examination, which was conducted by Dr Nehaul Singh yesterday, revealed that the woman died as a result of asphyxiation due to drowning. The woman is expected to be buried within the next few days, relatives reported.

A mother of five, DeAgrella, 40, of Lot 26, Independence Street, La Grange, West Bank Demerara, was reported to have jumped off the DHB into the Demerara River, shortly after 1 am. The police stated that her husband Leroy DeAgrella also jumped into the river, in a failed attempt to rescue her. He was rescued and subsequently admitted to hospital.

Leroy and Nalini DeAgrella

The police stated that initial investigations revealed that the woman and her husband reportedly had an argument while crossing the bridge in their motor vehicle. She requested that her husband stop the vehicle and then jumped off the bridge into the river, police said.

Her body surfaced several hours later in the Kingston area and her husband was subsequently questioned in connection with the incident and he was released on Thursday afternoon on station bail.