(Trinidad Express) – The final moments of 19-year-old Shabana Mohammed were spent gasping for air, face down on the ground, after she had been violently strangled.
This was revealed on Friday, following an autopsy by forensic pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov at the Forensic Science Centre in Federation Park.
Speaking to reports shortly after making his findings, Alexandrov explained the teenager had died as a result of asphyxiation due to strangulation.
“However, what is of note is that she was placed face down in the ground after she had been strangled. We know this because dirt was found in her air passages. Therefore, she was violently strangled, and then when she lapsed into unconsciousness, she fell face forward and remained on the ground for a few moments, still alive. She made a couple of terminal inhalations before she died,” Dr Alexandrov explained.
He also noted that Mohammed’s body was badly decomposed, leading him to believe she was killed most likely on the same day she disappeared.
“Her body was in a bad state of decomposition, which means that she died most likely on the day she was reported missing. I say this because the body was completely beyond visual recognition.
“However, she had unique features that the family was able to identify, such as waist-long hair, which was dual coloured. It was partially black and partially blonde in points. So I was able to wash it thoroughly and showed it to the respective relatives, and they were able to identify it from there,” Alexandrov said.
The forensic pathologist also noted he had taken samples from her nail clippings to determine whether there was the presence of foreign DNA.
“We did utilise the rape kit and take swabs and such to determine if she had been assaulted. But we will have to wait for those results,” Alexandrov said.
On Thursday, the nude body of the 19-year-old was found in a drain behind her home in Akal Trace, Santa Cruz.
She had been reported missing since January 3.
It was reported that on Saturday last (January 3), at about 7.30 am, Mohammed was home alone and sometime later, a loud scream was heard.
Relatives who returned to the house a short while later, realised she was missing and dialled her cell number but got no answer.
Searches were conducted and a report made to the Santa Cruz Police Station.
