Hannah Mathura’s parents charged for her murder
The Mathura family home on Butu Road, South Valsayn, at which the skeletal remains of teenager Hannah Mathura were found in March. – File photo by Faith Ayoung
THE parents of Hannah Mathura whose remains were found in the backyard of her Butu Road, Valsayn home on March 12, have been charged with her murder.
Seven months after the grizzly discovery, Andrew Mathura, 65, and Alana Mathura, 63, were arrested around noon on October 15 by officers of the Homicide Region 2 at the same home where Hannah’s remains were found.
They were taken to the Arouca Police Station and charged after Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard instructed investigators earlier on the morning of October 15.
Mathura, 18, was last seen in June 2017.
Her remains were found in a shallow grave after one of her relatives told police she had been killed and buried there.
The remains showed what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the skull.
In June, police approached the DPP with information unearthed during the investigation for advice on charging a person of interest in the case.
But they were told certain technical parts of the investigation needed more work before any recommendation could be made as to charges.
A police official connected to the case told Newsday at the time, police were having issues proving the cause of death.
Gaspard told Newsday the issue had since been resolved adding, “If that issue was still alive I would not have advised the police to charge them.”
Asked to address people who might not have had any confidence in the case being solved, Gaspard said, “While some people may find difficulty, they should continue to repose confidence in the police service. Notwithstanding recent events, there are police officers who are very much worth their weight in gold.”
The lawyer representing Hannah’s siblings Sanjiv Boodhu told Newsday neither he nor his clients had been informed officially of the arrest but he believe it was the start of justice for Hannah.
“The law must take its course. It will do so, and we have to sit and assess how that is happening and whether we have any role to play. If children have a further role to play, I am sure that they’ll be willing to play that role in the interest of justice and transparency.
“They’ve all given statements to the police, some multiple statements, others one statement, and each of them have attended the police station on several occasions. But I am certain that they will continue to assist the police in the course of the criminal proceedings if they are called upon to do so.”
He said while he had not spoken to his clients about the news, he did not expect it would be easy to digest.
“At the end of the day, these are their parents. I can’t imagine that they will take any joy in the arrest of their parents. However, the children, from the beginning, have been interested in justice, whatever that looks like for Hannah.”
Hannah’s parents were initially held two days after her body was found, but were freed after a week in custody.
Authorities faced difficulties in proving the remains were Hannah’s but DNA test results in April helped them to confirm the identity of the remains by a process of elimination.
A senior police officer explained the results could not conclusively prove the remains were Hannah’s as they didn’t have a sample from her to compare them to.
The officer said from the information available the police “deduced” the remains were hers.
“The test proved this person is an offspring of Hannah’s parents…Seeing as we have birth records, and all the other siblings are accounted for, and we have no death record for Hannah, we have to deduce that it is her.”
Hannah and her siblings lived in one wing of the L-shaped house and had no relationship with her grandfather, the family patriarch Aldwyn Girod, who lived in the other wing.
Speaking to Newsday on April 22 after news of the DNA test results broke, Girod described the situation as “sad” and said he was hoping for justice in Hannah’s death.
“I want to know exactly what happened. They said maybe she was shot in the back of her head but that’s all I know. I haven’t been down there (in the yard) up to now though.”
Hannah’s cousin Vanna Vee Girod, 30, died two years ago after she disappeared while visiting relatives in Tobago.
The model, actress and singer was reported missing to the Shirvan Road Police Station on January 25, 2022 after she went for a walk and did not return to her aunt’s villa where she was staying.
Her body was found the next day floating in waters off Arnos Vale.
Girod dismissed social media claims of a “curse” on the family saying, “There can be no curse because I’m almost 99. So there can’t be any curse if I’m still alive.”