– police say it was to preserve the body
A Post-Mortem Examination (PME) is scheduled for Thursday to determine the cause of death of 19-year-old Seth Fredericks, whose body was discovered in a mountainous area of Paramakatoi Region 8.
Commander of Regional Division #8, Superintendent Ravindra Stanley, confirmed with Guyana Standard that while initial reports suggest the death may be a suicide, the investigation remains active and all possibilities are being explored.
The family has serious concerns about the fact that his body was buried before the parents arrived.
However, Superintendent Stanley highlighted the logistical difficulties of managing a crime scene in the remote interior compared to the coastline. He explained that due to the lack of immediate morgue facilities in the specific mountainous area where the body was found, police have utilized a “shallow grave” to preserve the remains until the pathologist arrives. “It’s not like the coastland where you call a funeral home to pick up a body,” Stanley explained. “In the mountains, there’s no morgue. We shallow grave the body, and the police take possession of the crime scene until the PME is finished. We cannot hand over the body to anyone yet.”
The circumstances leading to the discovery of the body remain under scrutiny. According to police, Fredericks was reportedly with a woman identified as his wife or child’s mother at the time. Statements provided to investigators suggest the pair were “dancing and partying” but claimed they were not consuming alcohol.
The woman told police she left briefly and returned to find Fredericks hanging, at which point she reportedly cut the rope.
But the family raised concerns about the area where Fredricks reportedly hung himself not being high enough compared to his height. He was tall.
To that end, superintendent Stanley indicated that investigators are navigating “conflicting information” .
“The parents are not from the area, I don’t know who is giving conflicting information and his parents are not from there. They family never contacted the police,” the Commander stated.
Crime scene technicians have already processed the area and taken statements from those present. The police emphasized that the preservation of the body is critical to ensuring the integrity of the investigation. “We have to wait for the PME to conclude. We don’t rule out anything until then,” Stanley said. “We cannot allow the family to tamper with the body, in case the investigation reveals it is something other [than suicide].”
The pathologist is expected to travel to Region 8 on Thursday.
