THE autopies performed on the bodies found in a hotel room at the Aracari Resort, last Sunday, have confirmed that murder-suicide was the cause. The evidence concluded that Kevin Singh murdered his married partner, Subrina Nandram, by beating and strangling her, before ingesting poison and then drowning himself in the bathtub.

For 25-year-old Nandram, a mother of two and who last resided on the Corentyne, the cause of death has been given as “asphyxiation due to manual strangulation compounded by blunt trauma to the head”, while for twenty-six-year-old Singh, of Lot 18 Triumph Village, East coast Demerara, the cause of death was given as “asphyxiation due to drowning, compounded with ingestion of pesticide poisoning”.

The post-mortem examination was conducted on the two bodies on Wednesday, by government pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh, at the Ezekiel Funeral Parlour on the West Bank of Demerara, and the evidence presented itself. Singh’s body was identified by his brother, and Nandram’s by her brother.

Following the post-mortem, both bodies were handed over to their respective families for burial. The couple had checked into the hotel at 15:38hrs on Saturday, and Singh was last heard from at 12:00hrs on Sunday when he spoke to hotel management. Respective family members of the couple had last heard from them on Saturday. Subsequently, the bodies were discovered late Sunday evening.

A container with what is suspected to be an agricultural chemical was also found in the room. The police had also initially said that the bodies bore no marks of violence. It is alleged that the couple was in a relationship for at least six months, notwithstanding Nandram being married, by religious rites, to another man. Singh is said to have spent time with Nandram at her home in Berbice over the Christmas period, and Nandram is said to have introduced him to her children as their stepfather.

Mother of Nandram’s spouse, Prano Chinoolall, who is also guardian of Nandram’s two sons, had shared, however, that to the best of her knowledge, Nandram and her husband had never separated, and her son has been continuously sending money to support his wife and children.

“They not married legal but, yes, they married, they married about eight to seven years now, big wedding; me son and she nah left,” Chinolall had related. Following the post-mortem, Chinolall said she is not surprised by the conclusion as she had suspected, since the bodies were first discovered, that Nandram did not commit suicide.

“Yes, he kill her, I know he kill her. I am so upset with how she get her death because is he kill she, is not she kill she self, and she die and left two kids,” Chinolall expressed. Chinolall, who lives in Mon Repos, a short distance from Singh’s residence, said she had heard rumours that her daughter-in-law was being unfaithful to Singh, but got no substantial answers from Nandram when she confronted her in the past. “I was hearing it for a long time, but I didn’t say anything because I am the mother-in-law and I don’t want to make problem with people when I keep asking her, very simple, she nah give an answer,” Chinolall had explained.

She last saw Nandram on Saturday, when Nandram returned her two sons to Chinolall in Mon Repos. Though Nandram lived in Berbice, Chinolall explained that the two children have been residing with her, in Mon Repos, for approximately three years now. Nandram had collected them for the Christmas vacation and was returning them on Saturday.
Chinolall explained that when the children returned, they related that Singh had spent the Christmas holiday with their mother, so she again confronted Nandram, on Saturday, over a telephone call, about her affair with Singh. However, Nandram refused to respond to the allegations.

Family members for Singh had initially shared that they were unaware of why he would want to kill himself. Singh was last seen by his family on Saturday, when he told them that he was on his way to purchase a new vehicle, while departing in his brother’s vehicle which he had borrowed. The family had become aware of Singh’s relationship with Nandram indirectly, some six months ago. “I would see Whatsapp status with the two of them, that is how I got to know who the person is,” Ravin, Singh’s brother, had explained.