– was being treated at hospital

Maureen Rodney, the 54-year-old woman whose lifeless body was found on New Market Street close to the Georgetown Public Hospital on Sunday morning, had some of her faculties intact at the time of her death, her relatives related.

The woman’s relatives said she would walk to and from their Triumph, East Coast Demerara home and would sometimes carry money with her.

Her sister had told this newspaper that Rodney was once a member of the Guyana National Service but left the unit after developing a mental problem. Another relative told this newspaper yesterday that the woman is survived by a son who resides in the United States.

She said the woman’s son would occasionally return to Guyana but did not make much of an effort to locate his mother. The relative related that Rodney became mentally unstable some time after the father of her son ended the relationship some years ago. She believes the separation is what led to Rodney becoming mentally ill.

The woman said Rodney had been an outpatient of the Psychiatric Department of the Georgetown Public Hospital but she seldom made use of the treatment offered to her.

She said relatives have unsuccessfully tried to persuade Rodney to use the tablets given to her by the hospital but she would refuse to listen to them. Relatives would try their utmost to have the woman stay close to home but she would pack her bag with her belongings and head for the city, the relative said.

The dead woman’s naked body was found around 8 am on Sunday on the pavement opposite Dr Aubrey Norton’s clinic on New Market Street. When Stabroek News visited the scene a few hours after, persons living in the vicinity said that they had not heard anything which suggested someone was being injured.

A hire car driver who operates from in front of the hospital entrance said he had not noticed anything that morning. He said he was told some time during the day that a body was found near to the hospital.

The woman’s sister had told Stabroek News on Sunday that she received a call around 8.30 Sunday morning informing her of her sister’s death.

She was asked to visit the Lyken’s Funeral home to identify the remains of her sister who has been living on the streets for over 15 years. She related that her sister was found with a cut near to her neck.

Maureen Rodney is expected to be buried on Thursday.