Based on evidence police have accumulated, the two prime suspects in the gruesome murder of 16-year-old Neesa Gopaul will soon be charged in relation to her death and relatives of her father have hired an attorney to investigate the man’s ‘sudden’ death last year.
Gopaul’s mother and the woman’s partner remained in police custody yesterday. The third person, who was initially held in relation to her death, is out on bail. According to police sources, Gopaul’s mother has not been saying anything much since being arrested by the police while the woman’s lover has made it clear that he is not going to take the rap for anyone. They are both likely to be charged in relation to the disappearance and death of the young woman, who was laid to rest on Wednesday at the Leonora Muslim cemetery on the West Coast Demerara.
Stabroek News understands that a post-mortem report indicated that the teen’s head was clobbered with a blunt object. Investigators have also unearthed bloodstain evidence at Gopaul’s home in Leonora and these are among several leads being pursued.
Gopaul’s grandfather Mohammed Kayoum told Stabroek News on Wednesday that her head was clobbered to the state where it was beyond recognition.
A legal source told Stabroek News yesterday that the events between the death of the Moonsammy Gopaul last September and that of his daughter appear to be part of a get-rich scheme by a person or persons.
A relative said that more than $7 million in cash and jewellery which Moonsammy Gopaul left behind was expended within a few months of his death by his wife, her new partner and the partner’s wife. The relative said the now-dead teenager made several complaints in this regard.
The girl’s father’s brother, Poonsammy Gopaul, and other relatives have retained the services of an attorney to investigate what they described as his “untimely” death last year. Reports are that shortly after Moonsammy’s death, his relatives in the city were told that he had been fed rat poison prior to his death.
Neesa, however, reported her own suspicions to relatives about her father’s death and believed that he may have been overdosed with medication he was using at the time for diabetes. Moonsammy’s family were also angry with the man’s wife since none of his immediate family members or relatives were told about his death or his funeral, which took place the same day he died. The man was buried according to Muslim rites.
Police sources told Stabroek News yesterday that there are suspicions regarding Moonsammy’s death as there is a belief that he was fed poison in small doses which contributed to his demise.
Kayoum told Stabroek News that his son-in-law took ill “suddenly” on September 20 last year and some three months after, he passed away.
He said Moonsammy sought medical attention at the St Joseph Mercy Hospital and doctors there diagnosed him with kidney cancer. He said the medical personnel said at the time that Moonsammy’s condition had deteriorated rapidly, with only one of his kidneys functioning and at that time no one thought much about the circumstances surrounding his death since he was diabetic.
He said that with his condition deteriorating, Moonsammy decided to will his property to his two children – Neesa and her five-year-old sister. Nothing much was left to his wife, but she had access to monies left behind.
Commander of ‘B’ Division of the Guyana Police Force, Balram Persaud told Stabroek News yesterday that the man’s family would have to make a formal report of their suspicions to the police before an investigation can be undertaken.
Neesa Gopaul’s body was discovered in a suitcase last Saturday anchored in a creek close to the Emerald Tower resort on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway by a group of picnickers. A woman who made the discovery told Stabroek News that a large piece of metal was removed from the creek by the police the following day. Investigators subsequently returned to the scene and discovered several dumbbells which were also used to anchor the suitcase to the bottom of the creek. The weights have since been linked to Gopaul’s mother’s partner.
