THE parents of 18-year-old Hannah Mathura, whose remains were exhumed in a shallow grave at the back of a Valsayn house, are being questioned by police.
Police confirmed that Andrew Mathura, Hannah’s father, was apprehended by officers from the Arouca Police Station on Wednesday evening at an apartment in El Dorado, Tunapuna, where he had been in hiding. Simultaneously, police also detained Hannah’s mother at their residence on Butu Road, Valsayn.
Investigators also confirmed that the skeletal remains unearthed from a shallow grave on the Mathura family property in Valsayn belonged to Hannah Mathura, and she met an “unnatural death.”
The identification was made possible through the clothing retrieved from the grave. However, authorities remained tight-lipped regarding the exact circumstances surrounding Hannah’s demise, as the case has now escalated into a full-fledged murder investigation.
On Wednesday, reports surfaced indicating that Andrew had managed to escape police custody during an initial raid on the family home. Despite rumors of his return to the residence, authorities found no trace of him there.
Residents of Butu Road have voiced their concerns over what they perceive as a failure on the part of law enforcement and child welfare services to protect the Mathura family. Allegations of prolonged abuse and confinement within the household have cast a dark shadow over the community.
“There could have been intervention to prevent the horrors that occurred within those walls,” lamented one resident, highlighting the perceived negligence of authorities.
It is believed that Hannah, who had a disability, was buried in the shallow grave back in 2017.
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