A Surinamese woman was late Monday afternoon found dead in a Region Five hotel room and a post-mortem yesterday ruled she had died from ingestion of gasoline.
The body of Gaitrie Katrian, 25, of Boskamp, Suriname, was discovered just around 5.30 pm in a room at the Starlite Hotel, West Coast Berbice.
According to a police source, it is suspected that the woman may have died sometime between Sunday, July 14, 2024, around 1 pm, and Monday, July 15, 2024, at 5.10 pm at Lot 19 Section ‘F’, D Edward Village, West Bank Berbice.
Based on information gathered, Katrian who was born in Guyana but is a citizen of Suriname, checked into hotel room alone last Thursday around 11 am and was expected to leave on Monday midday.
However, after she did not check out, a hotel staffer eventually made the discovery of the woman’s unconscious, semi clothed body Monday afternoon.
Stabroek News was told that two bottles containing a red substance suspected to be gasoline was found in the room.
The police yesterday said that based on information received during her stay she would periodically leave and return to the hotel. “At approximately 17:10 hrs on July 15, 2024, she was discovered by staff in an unconscious state. The body was found lying face down on the bed, with a white tea cup beside her head. The deceased was wearing a burgundy brassiere and gray and orange tights. Two bottles containing a red substance suspected to be gasoline were found near the bed and in the sink.”
She was taken to the Fort Wellington Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Her relatives yesterday revealed that Katrian had developed an addiction to smelling gas and would often have bottles of same on her.
Her cousin, Diana Singh explained that Katrian left Suriname just over a week ago enroute to Guyana where she was expected to visit and stay at her uncle’s residence in Liverpool, Corentyne.
However, according to Singh they were unable to make contact with Katrian after she arrived in Guyana. They were eventually informed Monday evening by the hotel that the woman’s body was found with “blood coming out from her nose.”
She said that the family was also told that there were noticeable bloody sheets in the hotel room aswell.
Meanwhile, the cousin revealed that Singh’s addiction to smelling gasoline was developed a few months ago. She said, they found it strange that she would carry around a bottle of gas with her which she claimed she enjoyed smelling.
A post mortem examination yesterday revealed that Katrian died as a result of ingestion of gasoline. The family yesterday was left in a state of confusion as they could not understand what had transpired. They questioned the sudden development from smelling to possibly ingesting as according to them Katrian did not have any issues. “We really don’t think she would do anything like this to herself”, her cousin adamantly said yesterday.
Furthermore, they revealed that based on conversations seen from Katrian’s phone she was in communication with a male during her time in Guyana.
