WEEKS after a woman’s head was found in a cooler on the roadside in Siparia, a man riding a bicycle saw a dog eating what turned out to be part of human skeletal remains on the afternoon of April 10.
The body is believed to be that of 60-year-old grandmother of three, Joanne Estick, whose severed head was discovered inside a bag in a cooler at Sennon Village #3 in Siparia on March 13.
However, police from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations, Region Three, said DNA testing has to be done to confirm the identity.
A resident reported that around 5.30 pm on April 10, he was riding his bicycle along the Penal Quinam Road in Siparia, where he saw a dog chewing on a bone about five feet off the road in an overgrown area.
On checking, he observed what appeared to be human skeletal remains and alerted the Penal Police Station.
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Among the first responders were PCs Chaitramsingh and Ramdass of the Siparia CID who saw the remains lying on the back with no head and no feet.
The victim was wearing a purple undergarment around the waist.
Crime scene investigators PC Telesford and Buchoon also responded, as well as DMO Dr Avinash Sookdeo, who viewed and ordered the remains to be removed pending an autopsy at the Forensic Science Centre in St James.
Insp Gosine, acting W/Sgt Monsegue and other officers at the Penal Police Station also responded and gathered evidence.
Sgt Persad is continuing inquiries.
Last week, two men, Michael Edwards, 44, and his nephew Ryan Edwards of Siparia, appeared before a master in the High Court charged with Estick's murder.
On April 10, one of Estick's close relatives told Newsday that the funeral has been set for later in the month.
The relative said the family would go ahead only with the head, considering it may take months to confirm DNA tests.
"We do not know if it is really her as yet. If it is her, we are relieved, but then think about the state of the body. We already started preparing for the head alone. We are going ahead, and she will be getting a proper funeral," the relative said.
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"It was a problem to get her death certificate because we did not have her identification card or birth paper. Last week, I got through with that. It was a lot of ups and downs."
