THE relatives of Orwayne Vieira (not Dwayne as was previously stated) buried him at Stanleytown Cemetery in New Amsterdam yesterday, without an autopsy being preformed on his partly decomposed remains.
The deceased was discovered by a group of young men who had gone to search for a missing boat along the Canje River, also in Berbice.
Following the Sunday discovery, staff of the National Psychiatric Hospital in New Amsterdam identified the 38-year-old the next day and he was taken to Arokium Funeral Home in the same town.
He had been at the institution since November 25, among scores who were taken to the mental health institution, ahead of the IV Regular Summit of Heads-of-State and Government of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) hosted in the capital recently.
Reports said he had escaped from the hospital on December 4 and Berbice Police Crime Chief Ramsey said the post mortem scheduled for Tuesday had been postponed pending the arrival of a relative.
Vieira’s mother, Jennifer Sobers recalled last seeing her son on November 24, prior to him leaving their South Cummingsburg (Tiger Bay) Georgetown home to work as a handyman in the city.
The bereaved woman said, after hearing the tragic news, she paid a visit to Minister of Human Services  and Social Security, Ms. Priya Manickchand, and was given $30,000 to assist in the burial.
Sobers showed the Berbice media a receipt from the funeral home for a $24,000 coffin and the undertaker charged $5,000 for handling the deceased.
Owner of the business, Edward Adams said he would usually charge more but considered the circumstances under which Vieira died and reduced the cost.
Sobers said she, in company with another son, Sherman Munroe and daughter-in-law, Teisha Colley visited the New Amsterdam Police Station on Thursday morning and was informed that the pathologist was unable to perform the operation, because he had to do others in another part of Berbice.
The mother said, having been told the body has to be buried and exhumed subsequently, she was reluctant to agree as her son appeared to have marks of violence on him.
She pointed out that all his teeth were missing and wondered whether fish would have eaten them.