Dumping grounds for corpses

On October 1, a partial skeleton, believed to be the remains of 19-year-old Maria Paul, was found buried near a house on Babwah Trace, Barbuda Road, Wallerfield. Paul was last seen alive on September 12 and was believed to be murdered.

Investigators are still awaiting the results of a DNA test to conclusively determine whether the remains are those of Maria Paul.

On October 4, the decomposing body of Cunupia used car dealer Sachel Kungebeharry was found in a shallow grave in Pokhor Road, Longdenville. Kungebeharry was kidnapped by men dressed in tactical police gear.

The discovery of the two sets of remains highlighted the prevalence of the bodies being discarded by their killers in a bid to conceal the crime.

In this Guardian Media Investigation, we look at how many more bodies may be undiscovered in remote locations across T&T.

Senior Reporter

shane.superville@guardian.co.tt

Head of the Hunter’s Search and Rescue team Capt Vallence Rambharat says there are at least 15 areas across Trinidad that are used to dispose of the bodies of murder victims.

Rambharat, who has led the volunteer group of hunters and trackers in search of missing persons through dense forests for years, said the bodies of murder victims are typically found in remote corners of northeastern, central and southern Trinidad.

In the north, he identified the Heights of Aripo, Heights of Guanapo, Cumuto, Wallerfield, Carapo and Dump Road in Arima as areas of concern.

In central Trinidad, bodies are often found in abandoned lands in Caroni, Mon Plaisir Road, Cunupia, Claxton Bay and Carli Bay and further south, in areas around the M1 and M2 Tasker Roads, Fyzabad, as well as abandoned areas around Pt Fortin and Santa Flora.

These are areas connected by winding networks of dirt tracks and unofficial clearings accessed from multiple directions and difficult to monitor.

“In terms of disposing of bodies, you have hundreds of kilometres of roads that are agriculture access roads, old Caroni roads, old oilfield roads, you have orphan roads and all these come into play when we have to search,” he said.

“It’s an arduous task, it takes days to search a designated area but as we do more and more of it, we’ve narrowed down particular places where we have to look.”

Following the discovery of the bodies of Arima court clerk Andrea Bharatt in February 2021 and Keithisha Cudjoe, a year later in the Heights of Aripo, that particular portion of the Northern Range has been a hotbed of activity for his team.

“In the past four years, we know for a fact that there are other unofficial dumping sites,” Rambharat said.

“Since the Andrea Bharatt search, we’ve participated in a square meter by square meter search with the police in 2021 and we did recover bones, but we don’t know what became of them (the remains).

“As a search team, we’re always in the Heights of Aripo, we are always in touch with the residents, they would normally do the main road going uphill to the village.”

Although the Heights of Aripo gets plenty of attention, Rambharat said other areas across the country might also be the final resting place of missing people.

In August, the charred remains of a man believed to be Venezuelan national Wilmer Jose Marquez were found in a pineapple field in Digity Trace, Penal.

However, an officer from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations was hesitant to describe these areas as “dumping grounds” for murder victims, although he admitted that certain areas are used more than others for discarding bodies.

The officer said the police are wary of certain areas.

“While we understand that there is a convenience for the discrete disposal (of bodies), we have not labelled it as a dumping ground intrinsically.

“There are secluded areas where patrols are sparsely sporadic that might be convenient to criminals wanting to make a quick dump,” he said.

Sandra, 45, is a lifelong resident of the Heights of Aripo. The vast forest on the outskirts of her village was once a comforting, peaceful escape from the violence of T&T’s urban centres. However, since several bodies have been found in the forests surrounding her home in the Aripo Village, it no longer feels like the quaint rural community of her girlhood.

“Just driving up here you could feel the heaviness and weight on your shoulders,” she said. “So just imagine living up here, it wears on you after a while.”

In the past three years, human remains have been found down the steep precipice off Aripo Road which connects the village on the border of Arima and Valencia in the foothills of the Northern Range.

Every discovery adds to the unease of Aripo villagers.

In an interview in July, Sandra said it had been a while since human remains were found in the forest, but she felt other bodies remain undiscovered. That bothers her every time she enters and leaves the village.

“Not long after they found her (Andrea Bharatt’s remains) I thought they would have sent more officers to comb the forests.

“There could be a lot of other people buried there that we don’t even know about,” she said.

“You pass here sometimes and smell all kinds of scents, we just assume it’s a dead dog or a cat, not knowing it could be a person.”

Like many other communities on the edge of the Northern Range, Aripo has several attractions for nature lovers including hiking trails, rivers, a waterfall and the Oilbird Caves further north.

However, Sandra said the discovery of human remains has led to a noticeable drop in visitors to the area.

She said she recently invited friends for a river lime but the offer was politely declined.

“People just aren’t coming in here as they used to. We have a nice river and they told me no way they’re coming here. From the time they hear Aripo, they already made up their minds.”

She adds that residents avoid entering and leaving the area after dark as bandits have been known to wait in the bushes for passers-by. This together with the poor visibility makes the village isolated once the sun sets.

“If you go out the road, you have to come back in for a certain time because there’s always the possibility that somebody might block the road.

“Sometimes people come in after hours and they say they seeing strange vehicles just parked up, so they still doing their mischief.”

In February 2022, Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales and Arima MP Pennelope Beckles-Robinson, with assistance from the TT Electricity Commission (T&TEC), oversaw the installation of 14 electricity poles and 32 LED street lights.

The project cost $296,786.11.

Gonzales said then that the project was expected to continue as more funding becomes available. Asked if there were any plans to install CCTV cameras at the location, Gonzales said such decisions are not under his ministry.

One resident said the installation of the lights provided little relief as several of them were damaged and regularly needed repairing.

The man said while he felt safe in Aripo Village, the Aripo Road on the outskirts of the village could be dangerous after dark.

“If you happen to bounce up somebody putting down a crime, that immediately puts you at risk too. Just seeing someone doing a crime means you can end up in the same problems.”

Head of the Northern Division Snr Supt Miguel Montrichard admitted that patrolling such treacherous terrain is difficult. These challenges have stoked fears that portions of this island are difficult to police, so criminals are free to commit crimes with impunity.

Keithisha’s aunt still lives with grief

On January 24, 2022, Keithisha Cudjoe said goodbye to her friends after a lime in Belmont. The 21-year-old Diego Martin native had recently moved to Cocorite and was eager to return home after the evening out.

Her decomposing body was found on January 28 in the Heights of Aripo, 31 miles away from her home.

For Ayanna Cudjoe, Keithisha’s aunt, adding to the grief of losing a close relative is the disappearance of her 19-year-old son last November.

Saleem Joseph went to visit a friend at the Mt Hope Hospital but although he reassured an aunt that he would be returning home shortly, the teen was never seen again.

Recalling the day she visited the Forensic Science Centre to identify Keithisha’s body, Cudjoe said the advanced decomposition of the body was something she would never forget.

“I remember the pathologist explaining to me what to expect before I could go in the room to identify her body. He said what I knew as my niece was not what I was going to see and from that point the anxiety hit me. I couldn’t breathe. When I saw my niece I had to ask how this person living with themselves. I hope she is haunting them,” she said.

Cudjoe said since Keithisha’s murder the family has not received updates from the police investigators on whether a suspect was ever arrested or charged for the murder.

“It’s just something we all have to live with it seems. She was something to us and the way they just threw her away is hard,” she said.

Cudjoe waits for her son’s return but admits that living without knowing what happened to him has put a strain on the family. She tries to stay strong for her daughter, Saleem’s sister but mourns him privately.

“I won’t get to hear him say, Mom, you’re going to be a grandmother. I don’t know what happened to him. All I can do is sit and wait,” she said

Bodies dumped (put in a box)

• February 2021 – the body of 23-year-old law clerk Andrea Bharatt was found at the bottom of a precipice in the Heights of Aripo, days after she entered a taxi in Arima.

• Two days after Andrea Bharatt’s remains were found, police in a follow-up sweep of the area found a bag containing a separate set of remains that have still not been identified.

• January 24, 2022 – Keithisha Cudjoe, 21, left a lime with friends in Belmont. Her decomposing body was found on January 28 in the Heights of Aripo.

• April 2022 – a decomposing body was found near the site where Andrea Bharatt’s body had been found a year earlier. Investigators have not been able to confirm the identity of the individual.

• July 18 – the body of Brandon Bruce, 21, was found on Smithfield Road, Aripo. The head was covered in plastic held in place with duct tape and there was a single gunshot wound to the stomach.

• August 10 – a farmer found charred remains believed to be Wilmer Jose Marquez, in Digity Road, Penal.

• August 22 – the torso of a man was found wrapped in a large plastic bag in Holder Trace, Barataria. A skull was found nearby together with a piece of scalp.

• October 1 – a partial skeleton, believed to be 19-year-old Maria Paul was found near a house on Barbuda Road, Wallerfield.

• October 4 – the decomposing body of Cunupia businessman Sachel Kungebeharry was found in a shallow grave in Pokhor Road, Longdenville.

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