An autopsy yesterday revealed that 76-year-old retired police officer Cyril Persaud, whose decomposed body was found floating in a canal at D’Urban Backlands on Sunday, was murdered.
Police spokesman Jairam Ramlakhan yesterday confirmed that Persaud died from brain haemorrhage as a result of blunt trauma to the head compounded by compression injuries to his neck.
He also sustained blunt trauma to the abdomen and bleeding from his nostrils, Ramlakhan added.
The autopsy was done yesterday morning at the Georgetown Public Hospital mortuary by government pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh.
The body of Persaud, a resident of Atlantic Ville, East Coast Demerara, was discovered by residents of D’Urban Backlands who would use the canal to bathe and swim.
Clothing along with an Old Age pension book with the name ‘Cyril Nova Persaud’ were found just a few feet away from where the body was discovered.
Relatives had posted on social media on January 11th that Persaud had been missing for two days.
They had said that after Persaud went missing they had filed reports with the police but had not gotten any word until Sunday when they were contacted to identify the body.
Persaud’s younger brother, Peter Brahmdeo, said he last saw his brother about three months ago.
He said he made a report to the police after Persaud’s adopted son told him that he had not returned home. “His adopted son came to me on Friday (last) and told me that he hasn’t come home and this is what urged me to go to Sparendaam and get the police to search and inquire. We’ve been running at the police from Friday, Saturday then Sunday we got this news that the police have discovered this body somewhere in D’Urban Backlands which I positively identified,” he had related.
Brahmdeo said when he identified Persaud, he noticed that his face was swollen and said he suspects there was foul play. “His face swollen. It appears to me that he was beaten and had to be taken out of that district cause normally he goes with his bicycle but he leave his bicycle home and he walked so he could not have gone far from his home. Somebody had to take him there,” Brahmdeo added.
When contacted for an update yesterday, Brahmdeo said the autopsy results came as no surprise to him since he had initially suspected foul play in his brother’s death.
“I discuss it with the police and he (the police) said it got to be more than one person and one lock he off behind he (Persaud) head and the other one lash he up pun he head and them [carry] he off from the crime scene and carry he and dump he,” Brahmdeo said.
He said that he hopes the police can crack the case and the perpetrators can be arrested. “….I would like if the police could crack the case but it’s difficult. When you move a body from the scene of the crime and carry it somewhere else, you make the police wuk more difficult,” Brahmdeo added.
Persaud was a former policeman in the mounted branch.
