Update 4:26 pm, February 8:
Another suspect who was detained for questioning in the abduction and murder of Andrea Bharatt, 23, died.
According to a statement by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), Joel Balcon, of Oropouche Road, Sangre Grande, 36, one of the suspects arrested for Andrea’s death, died this afternoon at the Eric Williams Medical Science Complex, Mount Hope.
The TTPS said that Balcon, who was arrested on January 31 at his home, tried to escape after being arrested and injured, forcing him to be hospitalized.
TTPS said that around 2:20 pm, the hospital nurses found him unanswered. They tried to resuscitate him, however, he was declared dead at 2:32 pm.
TTPS said Balcon was one of several people detained by the police after Bharatt was reported missing on 29 January.
TTPS said that between 2007 and 2017, Balcon was arrested and charged with 70 crimes, including several charges of rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment, theft and aggravated theft. At the time of his death, 45 of these cases were pending.
Bharatt, a clerk at the Arima Magistrates’ Court, was last seen getting into a taxi in Arima on Friday afternoon on January 29 and has not been seen since. His decomposed body was found on a precipice in the Aripo Hills on February 4.
The TTPS said an autopsy performed today on Bharatt’s body revealed that the cause of death was inconclusive. It was also confirmed that all of his organs were intact.
Original story:
Another suspect who was detained for questioning in the abduction and murder of Andrea Bharatt, 23, died.
The man, who had 70 other previous cases, was being questioned regarding Andrea’s death. Andrea’s body was found at the bottom of a precipice in the Aripo Hills after she was kidnapped while taking a taxi on 29 January.
The suspect was admitted to the hospital after police said he tried to escape and had to be subdued.
Another suspect, Andrew Morris, 35, was also detained by the police for questioning and died after being “subjugated” twice by the police while in custody. The police said he ‘started acting violently’, fought with the police and had to be subdued.
More than 240 staff and volunteers from the Hunters’ Association of Trinidad and Tobago scoured the Aripo forests yesterday after another set of remains was found not far from where Andrea was found.
A resident who helped with the search found additional bones that were taken for testing to determine if they were human. The team covered nine kilometers during the exercise.
After the discovery, authorities found more bones near the site.
This is an evolving story; more as this is updated.