A POST-MORTEM performed yesterday on the body of 15-year-old Basmattie Moonsammy came up indeterminate due to the state of decomposition of the corpse. However, a suspect is in police custody assisting with investigations, since it is believed that he may have vital information which may lead to the apprehension of the prime suspect, who is said to be the mastermind of the brutal abduction and murder of the teenager.
Moonsammy went missing from her home on July 29 last, and police reported that a resident had found her decomposing body in a shallow grave in a rice field on Saturday, while he was on his way to tend to his crops at Number 11 Village, West Coast Berbice.
Moonsammy, also of Number 11 Village, reportedly left home for an unknown destination while her single-parent mother was away at work.
The teenager, who is survived by two siblings and her mother, lived in a small house in the backlands of the Number 11 Village.
Her semi-nude body was discovered lying facedown  about 10:00 hrs on Saturday and the police were summoned after her mother made a positive identification of the corpse subsequent to being informed by villagers.
Shocked by the brutal demise of the girl, residents have since pledged their support to the family in making funeral arrangements.
It is believed that the teen was either lured or forcibly taken to the rice field area aback of the village, where she was reportedly gang-raped and murdered by a group of men from the village.