Thirty-four-year-old Ovril Pedro, the taxi driver whose body was found last Saturday in a clump of bushes at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara, died from pesticide poison.
Government Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh, who on Monday performed the post-mortem examination on Pedro’s body, gave the cause of death as pesticide poisoning.
The body was identified by the father of the deceased, Avan Pedro, and subsequently handed over to relatives for burial.
Investigations so far have revealed that at about 8 am yesterday, a 53-year-old fisherman, Manuge Samaroo of Lot 2 Soesdyke-Linden Highway, East Bank Demerara, went to the backlands located behind his lot at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara to “catch iguana.”
Samaroo related that while walking through some bushes he came upon the lifeless body of a man and promptly reported his discovery to the police. They attended the scene shortly after and inspected the body. No visible marks of violence were observed.
Pedro’s friend, Elizabeth Hendricks, who owns a snackette in the area, told Stabroek News that she was told that he had received a telephone call and took off in his car right after. Hendricks added that she had no idea about exactly what happened to Pedro.
When investigators searched the body, they discovered a black wallet containing the deceased’s ID card along with a bank card in his pants pocket. Also, a Samsung Galaxy S9 cellphone was found nearby.
The investigation is ongoing.
