As police wait for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to decide whether charges should be filed against Hannah Mathura’s parents for her murder, her siblings have stepped up to assist investigators. This was confirmed by two lawyers representing the surviving seven Mathura siblings on Friday.
Hannah, 18, was shot in the head and buried in a shallow grave at her family’s Butu Road, Valsayn home in 2017. Her body was discovered by police on Tuesday after a male relative led officers to her grave. Her father fled the home hours before police arrived on Tuesday and went into hiding.
By the time the autopsy results emerged on Wednesday, police had launched a manhunt for her father. They received a tip on Wednesday night which led them to Tunapuna, where they found him in a small dirty apartment, dressed only in a pair of short pants. Hannah’s mother was also arrested at around the same time at the family’s home in Valsayn.
Time is now running out for the police to charge the couple as the longer they are held without charge, their lawyers can eventually file a writ of habeas corpus to have them released.
Speaking with Newsday on Friday, a senior officer said the couple was interviewed by homicide officers on Thursday evening and he believed they will soon be charged. He said while the police are hoping to lay murder charges against the duo, the decision is ultimately up to the DPP. “Those (interviews) are completed. The police are just tying up some other loose ends and then they’re looking to approach the DPP, probably over the weekend.”
The officer said the couple could jointly face multiple charges, apart from murder, based on the facts surrounding the case.
Responding to the possibility that Hannah’s parents could be set free before charges are laid if their lawyers file a writ of habeas corpus, Homicide Bureau head Rishi Singh said the police were not concerned about that at the moment. “If they decide to do that, we understand they are exercising the legal rights that are available to them and we will just have to abide by due process and will continue to work towards our investigative processes.” He said he believed the police were in a position to justify keeping them in custody if any such application is made. “Once we are called upon to justify their detention, we will. We are doing all we have to do.”
Hannah’s siblings unified
Attorneys Sajiv Boodhu and Sascha Kolasingh are representing the interests of Hannah’s seven siblings and spoke with the media outside the Arouca Police Station on Friday afternoon. The attorneys said the Mathura children asked them to thank the public for the outpouring of love and support they have received, thanks in part to the media coverage of the incident. However, they also asked for privacy as they navigate the traumatic experience. “They’ve expressed to us that they’ve received a lot of support on social media… Despite the outpouring of love and support, we would continue to ask the public to respect the privacy of the children in particular at this ti
