Although items found on a decapitated corpse have convinced the family of former MFK Trading owner Mohamed Khan that it is him, Crime Chief Leslie James says that this is not “legally acceptable” and the police will have to move to DNA testing.
James told Stabroek News yesterday that at this point what was found are confirmed to be human remains and it is now up to the police to investigate who the person is, how the person met their death and who is responsible.
A post-mortem examination conducted on the remains on Monday was inconclusive. Khan vanished without a trace on August 21. The corpse, which was missing the legs–one from the ankle down and the other from the knee down— was found on September 22 at Cumming Lodge. A head, which was in a plastic bag, was found a few feet from the body.
It was Khan’s wife, who lives in Venezuela, who positively identified a belt and pants found on the corpse as being those of her husband. Pictures had been sent to her by relatives who had viewed the remains, which are presently at the Lyken’s Funeral home.
A mark, which some relatives believe is a gunshot wound, was found in the stomach area of the corpse – in the same area where Khan had sustained a gunshot wound during a failed execution attempt. The doctor, according to Khan’s sister Bibi Fareema Khan, could not confirm if it was a gunshot wound given the decomposition of the body.
Bibi, however, seems convinced that the remains are those of her brother. In addition to the pants and belt, she said the hair on the recovered head as well as missing teeth in areas where Khan wore dental plates, have led to her to conclude that it is him.
James told Stabroek News that “legally that (the family’s suspicions) is not enough.” He said that he is yet to meet with Khan’s relatives to find out whether they would opt for the state to handle the DNA testing or whether they would want to do it privately. He said that the family can undertake this task on their own once they get permission. The relatives have indicated to this newspaper that they are contemplating private DNA testing just to satisfy themselves that the remains are those of Khan.
Stabroek News has since been told that the remains will stay at the Lyken’s Funeral home until the identity is determined.
One of Khan’s former employees had told this newspaper that the man was last heard from on August 21, four days after he had arrived from Venezuela to transact business. The man, who requested anonymity, said Khan was supposed to meet him later that week, but Khan never contacted him and he figured the man had returned home. The former employee said he only became aware that Khan had not contacted relatives when he received a call from the man’s wife in Venezuela, who was inquiring about his whereabouts.
The woman, who asked to remain unnamed, had told this newspaper that she last spoke with Khan on August 21 while he was in Guyana. She said that during his time here, he was to meet with his attorney before heading to the interior to look after his business. Thereafter, he would have returned to Venezuela.
According to the woman, just before he left, Khan had informed her that he had received a call that someone was looking for him.
Subsequently, a missing person’s report was filed with the Guyana Embassy in Venezuela and a missing person’s report was published in the Kaieteur News on October 12.
Khan had told Stabroek News that he was shot in what he had described as an attempted murder in front of a masjid in La Grange. “I think someone was sent to kill me,” he declared. “But I was scared so I told the police that it looked like a robbery,” he added.
A cousin had said that after Khan was shot, he was arrested and held for suspected arson related to a fire that destroyed the interior of MFK Trading back in 2012. He had sold the business in 2010 but subsequently claimed that he was owed some $80M.
Within recent days, relatives have repeatedly said that Khan’s life was threatened and that they know the identity of the persons who made the threats.
