One day she called, and she was crying. We tried to find out
what was wrong, but she would not say...and then she hung
up' - victim's brother Seemangal
SHALLOW grave victim Parbattie Camille Seenauth, 31, (also
called 'Paro'), was yesterday buried at Le Repentir Cemetery
in Georgetown, amid a flood of emotions from close relatives
gathered at her graveside to pay their last respects and
catch a final glimpse of her badly-battered body.
Relatives said the post mortem examination performed on
Monday revealed that she died from strangulation
and sexual assault, and that there were several
marks of violence about her body. There was also evidence of
bludgeoning to the forehead.
Her body was found early last Friday morning in a shallow
grave in the yard of reputed `spiritual healer', Patricia
Alves, at Second Street, Alberttown, Georgetown.
Alves, 41, the prime suspect in the case, was still in
Police custody last night.
Deep anguish and outrage was evident in the expressions of
Seenauth's relatives as they watched her coffin being
lowered into the muddy grave yesterday. What began as a bold
attempt at rendering familiar 'parting' hymns, soon saw the
parson rendering a solo.
Among the mourners were her two sisters - Vadwattie
and Deowattie, brother
Seemangal and aunt Ramrattie Hardyal, who
all travelled from the Essequibo Coast and the Pomeroon
River for the funeral.
They all huddled together, trying desperately to comfort an
elder aunt, Mrs. Parbattie Lall fondly referred to as Aunt
Doris, who lives at Montrose, East Coast Demerara, and with
whom Parbattie had been living prior to moving in with Alves,
the 'spiritual healer' at the centre of the saga.
But while the physical burial was preceded by a service at
the Lyken's Funeral Home, on John Street, Newburg, the
interment did not mark the close of ceremonies at the
ground. As the tears began to subside, mourners were once
again stunned by what turned out to be the contents of a
travelling bag handed over to them by the Police, purporting
to be Parbattie's 'personal belongings'.
Instead of the deceased's clothing and other things, the
bag, from which emanated intermittent wafts of objectionable
scents, contained more than two dozen candles - of various
colours, sizes, and fragrances - a dinner bell; a calabash;
cosmetics; photographs of various Hindu deities; and a
quantity of 'confusion powder' and other items.
A family friend, Pastor Deonauth
of the Zeelugt 'Faith in Jesus Ministry', East
Bank Essequibo, readily and fearlessly volunteered to
dispose of the bag and its contents by burning them at the
graveside in the presence of all assembled.
While it could not have been ascertained what other personal
belongings Parbattie had with her during her stay with Alves,
relatives said that apart from the bag, the only other thing
they received from the Police was their sister's gold
wedding band, which she had on her finger when the body was
exhumed from the shallow grave in Alves' yard.
FASHION CONSCIOUS
They recalled her keeping important documents in a large
brown envelope. She was also the holder of a valid passport
since she had lived in Venezuela once, they said.
Weeping, Aunt Doris, who once suffered a stroke, related
that Parbattie had spent about a year and nine months at her
home in Montrose. Comparing her then, to what she looked
like at the time of her death, relatives recalled her being
on the chubby side "...and very fashion
conscious."
Aunt Doris recalled with horror the day Parbattie told her
that she had found a job and was going to become a 'live-in'
domestic, but she did not say where she was going.
"I didn't want her to go, but she promised me she would
phone me, and that she would come back to see me the next
Sunday. She left and I never saw her back nor even heard
from her."
She also recalled her niece leaving the home on a Monday -
somewhere around the last week of November or the first week
of December, in 2000. Until last week when they heard of her
death, no one knew where she was, the relatives said.
Aunt Doris said she'd really liked her niece, as they both
shared the same name. She'd also tried her best to make her
comfortable and happy. During the months the young woman
spent at her aunt's home, she had indicated an interest in
doing computer studies which her aunt financed.
"She went to Global Computer School; she was bright and
passed four examinations very quickly," Aunt Doris
said. However, as she was preparing for the fifth exam, she
was seriously injured in a vehicle accident, and was
hospitalised for some time.
After seeing Alves on television recently, relatives who
went to visit Parbattie while she was in hospital, recalled
seeing that same woman at her bedside.
"She was visiting her, and now we feel that they might
have known each other for a long time," one suggested.
Meanwhile, brother, Seemangal,
had another story to tell. He said that while his sister was
yet at their aunt's at Montrose, they had heard regularly
from her. But after she left the home there was a breakdown
in communication.
Then one day his wife received a telephone call from her,
and a contact number. Thereafter, they spoke a few times on
the phone.
"But one day she called, and she was crying. We tried
to find out what was wrong, but she would not say...and then
she hung up," he said.
After that, she did not call them back, and because he and
his wife were worried, the brother said they called her a
few days later. However, the reception was not warm, and she
warned them not to call back the number.
This might have been as recent as two weeks ago, he said.
Shallow grave
suspect may be charged today
February 22, 2002
THE reputed spiritual healer in whose backyard the body of a
young woman was dug up a week ago, is likely to be charged
with murder or manslaughter today, well-placed sources said
last night.
Patricia Alves, 41, of Second Street, Alberttown,
Georgetown, is expected to appear before a city magistrate
to answer the charge in the dramatic case that has dominated
headlines since the shallow grave victim, Parbattie Kamille
Seenauth, also called 'Paro', 31, was removed from the hole
in Alves' yard early last Friday morning.
Residents of the area said the suspect in the gruesome case
had for years conducted rituals at her house/church that
involved severely beating subjects in a `healing' process.
Seenauth, originally from Charity, Pomeroon in Essequibo,
who was last seen alive by close relatives late last year,
was buried at Le Repentir Cemetery in Georgetown on Tuesday.
There was a flood of emotions from close relatives gathered
at her graveside to pay their last respects and catch a
final glimpse of her badly-battered body.
Relatives said the post mortem examination performed on
Monday revealed that she died from strangulation and sexual
assault, and that there were several marks of violence about
her body. There was also evidence of bludgeoning to the
forehead, they said.
Among the mourners were her two sisters - Vadwattie and
Deowattie, brother Seemangal and aunt Ramrattie Hardyal, who
all travelled from the Essequibo Coast and the Pomeroon
River for the funeral.
They all huddled together, trying desperately to comfort an
elder aunt, Mrs. Parbattie Lall fondly referred to as Aunt
Doris, who lives at Montrose, East Coast Demerara, and with
whom Kamille had been living before moving in to stay with
Alves about three months ago.
The contents of a travelling bag handed over to them by the
Police, purporting to be Kamille's 'personal belongings'
were her clothing, more than two dozen candles - of various
colours, sizes, and fragrances - a dinner bell; a calabash;
cosmetics; photographs of various Hindu deities; and a
quantity of 'confusion powder' and other items.
A family friend, Pastor Deonauth of the Zeelugt 'Faith in
Jesus Ministry', East Bank Essequibo, burnt them at the
graveside in the presence of all assembled.
While it could not have been ascertained what other personal
belongings Kamille had with her during her stay with Alves,
relatives said that apart from the bag, the only other thing
they received from the Police was their sister's gold
wedding band, which she had on her finger when the body was
exhumed from the shallow grave.
Weeping, Aunt Doris, who once suffered a stroke, related
Tuesday that Parbattie had spent about a year and nine
months at her home in Montrose. Comparing her then, to what
she looked like at the time of her death, relatives recalled
her being on the chubby side "...and very fashion
conscious."
Aunt Doris recalled with horror the day Parbattie told her
that she had found a job and was going to become a 'live-in'
domestic, but she did not say where she was going.
"I didn't want her to go, but she promised me she would
phone me, and that she would come back to see me the next
Sunday. She left and I never saw her back nor even heard
from her."
She also recalled her niece leaving the home on a Monday -
somewhere around the last week of November or the first week
of December last year.
Until last week when they heard of her death, no one knew
where she was, the relatives said.
After seeing Alves on television when the case broke,
relatives who went to visit Parbattie while she was in
hospital, recalled seeing that same woman at her bedside.
Seemangal said that while his sister was at their aunt's at
Montrose, they had heard regularly from her. But after she
left the home there was a breakdown in communication.
Then one day his wife received a telephone call from her,
and a contact number. Thereafter, they spoke a few times on
the phone.
"But one day she called, and she was crying. We tried
to find out what was wrong, but she would not say...and then
she hung up," he said.
After that, she did not call them back, and because he and
his wife were worried, the brother said they called her a
few days later.
However, the reception was not warm, and she warned them not
to call back the number.
This might have been as recent as two weeks ago, he said.
Her body was discovered and Alves arrested after neighbours
tipped off police that someone was seen burying a corpse in
a shallow grave in the yard.
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