The relatives of an Arima man who was murdered earlier this month want to know what led to repeated delays in his autopsy.

Newsday understands Nicholas Daniel, 31, was shot dead on January 8, in Demerara Road, Wallerfield.

Relatives said Daniel's body was brought to the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on January 10, when samples were expected to be taken for covid19 testing before the autopsy could be done.

They said they were still waiting for the autopsy to be completed and were not given answers as to what led to the delay.

Daniel's aunt Natalie Daniel told Newsday that dealing with the grief of her nephew's murder was difficult enough without an extended wait.

"We were the first to reach here (the Forensic Science Centre) on Monday morning ,when they brought his body here and the officials told us that we would get the results either the following day or that Wednesday.

"From last week Monday to now we haven't gotten it done.

"It's very disrespectful of them to not give us any proper updates on what's going on. They told us there was a mix-up, but didn't go into any details over what the mix-up was about."

While Newsday was speaking with them, a worker told them Daniel's autopsy would be done the same day.

The autopsy was done, but Daniel's aunt later told Newsday her nephew's body already began to show signs of decomposition which she said could have been avoided if the autopsy had been done sooner.

Daniel's mother Shelly Ann Daniel said she was also disappointed at the slow pace at the centre and wanted to give her son a proper burial.

She said Daniel's brother Leon Donnelly was murdered in 2010 and she was still grieving his death.

Another relative, who asked not to be named, said the incident was upsetting. He blamed Daniel's murder on rumours being spread by people in the community that he was involved in the theft of a gun.

The relative said while Daniel did find a quantity of ammunition at a nearby parlour, he did not have anything to do with the missing weapon.

"This gun went missing last November.

"He lost his life innocently because somebody else lost a gun. He was killed innocently for something he didn't even know about."

The relative said while the police had a responsibility to increase their presence through patrols, parents must also step up in guiding their children away from crime.

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