A Coroner’s Inquiry has, after fourteen days, ruled that there is insufficient evidence to determine whether anyone was criminally responsible for the death of Roy Mitchel Persaud, called Otis and Fineman.

The inquiry, held at the New Amsterdam Court by Coroner Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus, revealed that Persaud died on May 7, 2010 at Palmyra Village, East Canje Berbice, and his death was classified “undetermined” by the lack of evidence.

The five-member jury was also unable to determine after what manner the father of two had died.
The charred remains of the former rigger attached to the Dutch company Oldendoff had been discovered in the trunk of his motor car, PEE 9632, at Palmyra Village, East Canje, quite a distance from where he lived at Mount Sinai, commonly referred to as Angoy’s Avenue, a squatting area on the eastern fringe of the New Amsterdam township.

Persaud had also been a taxi driver at nights, and was last seen at Main and Pitt Street in the New Amsterdam Township on the night of May 7, 2010. His friend Rocky Khan recounted that the now deceased Persaud would park his vehicle and wait to solicit passengers. He, the witness, a GuySuCo employee, would park the company lorry for a moment, and the two men would engage in conversation.

At about 21:00hrs on the day in question, Persaud was last seen conversing with two car operators and a friend. An hour and a half later, an unknown male of East Indian ancestry approached Persaud and indicated that he wanted to travel to East Canje. Thereafter, a man of African ancestry, who had been known to Persaud, joined Persaud’s car. Minutes later, three unknown men of East Indian ancestry joined Persaud’s car, which then left for East Canje.

The following day, Khan reported that he failed in attempts to contact his friend via his cellular phone. However, subsequent investigations led to the arrest of Roger Grovsner, who was one of the last persons seen in Persaud’s car the same night he disappeared. Grovsner had declined to give a written statement.

In the meanwhile, the police, acting on information, went to Palmyra Village where, at the Rose Hall Sugar Estate Main Access Road, a damaged and discoloured motor car was seen. The trunk, when opened, contained what appeared to be human remains, which were wrapped in plastic and taken to the Old New Amsterdam Hospital Mortuary.

A subsequent post-mortem of the remains, conducted by Government Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh, ruled that the cause of death was undetermined.

The relatives of Roy Mitchel Peraud had described the remains which were found in the trunk of the burnt out white Toyota Carina motor car as “pieces of bones”. Persaud’s mother Shira Tahal recounted that she had last seen her only son, hours before he went missing after he had stopped at her Smythfield residence in New Amsterdam, saying he was hungry.

“I wasn’t finished cooking; however, I sent to purchase food to satisfy his hunger,” she recollected to this reporter.

According to information, her son went to his home, but left there hours after, to work as a hire car driver. Ms. Tahal recounted that, the following day, she received a telephone call from her grandchildren Orlando and Selina, who related that their father did not return home the previous night.

The woman related that after making several calls to relatives, various police stations and friends to ascertain her son’s whereabouts, and after receiving no useful information, she proceeded to Central Police Station, where she made a missing person report.

A return visit to the police station the following day resulted in an inquiry from a plainclothes rank, and confirmed Ms. Tahal’s fears that her son had been kidnapped and murdered.

She said her husband and other relatives left for the scene, and they reported that there was no way they could identify the body as it was “pieces of bones”.

(By Jeune Bailey Van Keric)