Babita Sarjou’s remains found buried in ex-husband’s yard
Acting on new information and questioning of the reputed husband and a friend, the Police moved in to the man's Seaforth Street, Campbellville property on Saturday and Sunday. They carried out several searches of the yard and eventually stumbled upon a shallow grave in the back of the yard.
A six-year missing person’s case became a homicide case on Sunday afternoon as Police investigators made a major breakthrough when they discovered the remains of Babita Sarjou. The 28-year-old woman left her Timehri house on Diwali eve in 2010 to view the motorcade. She was not heard from or seen since that 4th November date.
Relatives have long suspected that her reputed husband was responsible for her disappearance but there was never any concrete evidence that could tie him to the disappearance until now.
Acting on new information and questioning of the reputed husband and a friend, the Police moved in to the man’s Seaforth Street, Campbellville property on Saturday and Sunday. They carried out several searches of the yard and eventually stumbled upon a shallow grave in the back of the yard.
Neighbours brought out shovels and axes for the investigators. On Sunday morning, several bones believed to be those belonging to Babita Sarjou were found buried in a three-foot shallow grave in the back of the yard where the reputed husband lives.
Police cordoned off the area and continued digging and found a number of large bones. They were all taken from the scene.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum, who was at the scene, told the media that the Police will be moving to file murder charges against the former husband and his friend. He explained that both men are in custody and although, samples of the remains will be sent to Trinidad for DNA testing to ensure 100% confirmation, investigators have enough evidence to file charges against the men.
He said the hard work of the Police Force resulted in the major breakthrough in the case.
“I would like to commend the investigators because after hours and days of painstaking investigations, they were able to solicit crucial information which would have led to this breakthrough. And no longer are we treating this matter as a missing person. It is now a homicide that we are investigating”, Blanhum said.
He added that “so far we believe the body is that of Babita Sarjou but nevertheless, to determine 100% with certainty, we will need to do DNA testing. We have already secured samples from the relatives and we also obtained samples from the remains, so we will be sending those samples to Trinidad this week or early next week so that we could have this case dealt with in an expeditious manner”.
The case had haunted the Guyana Police Force for the past six years and was only recently reopened following a growing call from a local women’s group.
The husband and his friend who are suspects remain in the custody of local police.