THE body of thirty-four-year-old Natasha Jacobs of Lamaha Park, Georgetown was yesterday morning found floating in that South Sophia canal that is known as the “Blacka”.

Residents and relatives suspect that the mother of four had been murdered by her lover, with whom she had shared an abusive relationship even though she had been seeing him for some time now.

When the Chronicle arrived on the scene, Natasha’s body had already been taken out of the canal and placed on the dam awaiting arrival of the hearse to take it away, even as the police had completed their examination of the body.

Relatives at the scene of the discovery were vociferous in commenting on Natasha’s easygoing attitude and the shock that her death has caused.

To this reporter, it was evident that the dead woman had been struck to the face with an object. Her body had no signs of decay, which caused residents to believe that she had been murdered on Sunday night and the suspect dumped the body in the canal in the wee hours of yesterday morning. No one residing close to the suspect’s shack on the reserve reported hearing anything strange when this newspaper enquired.

The Guyana Chronicle was told that Natasha had been abused in all the relationships she had shared with men; and the relationship she had had with the suspect had been an abusive one. One relative said that whenever Natasha was abused, she used to relate it to them and they would advise her against returning to her abusive lovers, but she would defy the advice and find herself back into the arms of her abusers.

It was also reported that the suspect was somewhat “out of sorts” and had a health ailment. It was only recently that Natasha had lost a brother who had been struck to the head by someone, which had caused him also to become somewhat “out of sorts”. He later ended his own life.

Speaking with the mother of the deceased, Ms Pamela Jacobs, at the scene of the discovery, this publication learnt that she had last seen Natasha alive on Saturday night, when the two of them walked from Festival City to Lamaha Park; the Jacobses have other relatives living in Festival City.

The elder Ms Jacobs could not continue her interview, because the hearse had arrived to remove her daughter’s body, causing her to break down and become inconsolable.

The dead woman’s brother, however, indicated that his sister had been a mother of four children, all of whom are younger than 15 years old. He said the family is convinced that the late Natasha had been murdered, and their conclusion is based on several developments.

The young man said that after family members had arrived on the scene following receipt of the news of Natasha’s death, they later visited a home which they were told that Natasha had frequented – residence of the man suspected of her murder. There he asked the suspect if he knew Natasha, but the man denied knowing her. Natasha’s brother said that at the time of the family’s visit, the suspect, who is now in police custody, was cleaning out his house, and this raised suspicion that he might have killed Natasha in the home and dumped her body in the canal.

Natasha’s brother said he pulled the suspect out of the house, and other persons began beating him and trashing his little cottage home which rests on Government reserve. The suspect then admitted to knowing Natasha, and again other persons began beating him even as other relatives pleaded with them to desist from so doing. The man was then handed over to the police, and was up to late last evening still in their custody.

The police are continuing their investigations into the matter even as residents of the area and relatives are calling for swift action in ensuring that justice is served to the surviving relatives of the late Natasha Jacobs.

(Leroy Smith)