(Trinidad Guardian) A woman has obtained an injunction stopping the funeral of her estranged husband, pending her legal dispute with his alleged caregiver over control of his estate.
Guardian Media understands that following an emergency hearing on Tuesday night, High Court Judge Ricky Rahim granted an order restraining Magdalene Roderique, also known as Theresa Rodriguez, from disposing of Lawrence Mark’s body pending the determination of a case brought by his wife Jennifer Vidale-Mark.
Attached to the application for the order were affidavits from Vidale-Mark and the couple’s daughter Laura, who detailed the events which caused her to pursue legal action against Roderique.
Mark, who was suffering from prostate cancer and diabetes mellitus, passed away last Thursday.
Vidale-Mark claimed that they were married in 1981 and lived together continuously until May 2018, when he left their home to live with his brother in Sangre Grande.
She claimed that her husband, with whom she had four children, filed for divorce in May 2019 but the petition was dismissed as he had not proven that they were living apart for the requisite period.
She claimed that on the day Mark passed away, they were visited by Roderique, who informed them that he died and that she was handling his funeral arrangements.
“I heard my daughter ask her how is that possible for her to handle my husband’s funeral when he is a married man with children, to which the individual responded and said, ‘All of that changed now.’ I have never seen Theresa before,” Vidale-Mark said in the document.
Vidale-Mark reported the incident to police, contacted her lawyers and went to several funeral homes in search of her husband’s body.
She later found out that it was being kept by David Guide and Sons Funeral Services.
However, the company refused to release his body without Roderique’s approval and the payment of $5,000.
Vidale-Mark also claimed that she received confirmation that Roderique had removed funds from her husband’s credit union accounts.
“In an attempt to collect National Insurance Death benefit at the National Insurance Board, I was advised that Roderique has already collected same and I cannot understand how she was able to do this as I have been advised by my attorneys and verily believe same to be true, that such a benefit is only made to the wife or cohabitee of a deceased person, none of which Roderique is,” she said.
She said that she heard that her husband left a will with Roderique named as the executor and beneficiary but claimed that she had not seen or heard about it before Roderique introduced herself after her husband’s death.
Vidale-Mark is being represented by Farai Hove Masaisai, Jennifer Farah-Tull and Bernelle-Joy La Foucade.
The case is scheduled to come up for hearing before Justice Rahim this morning.
