Woman’s skeletal remains… Benschop foundation offers to pay for DNA tests

Mark Benschop in the Botanical Gardens two Saturdays ago while searching for clues relating to the missing teacher

Rather than waiting for several months to determine whether the skeletal remains found at Pattensen, East Coast Demerara (ECD) are those of missing teacher, Nyozi Goodman, a non-governmental organization (NGO) has offered its assistance in speeding up the identification process.
The Benschop foundation, headed by social activist Mark Benschop, is offering to stand the cost to conduct a Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test on the skeletal remains discovered in a desolate and grass-filled area last Thursday.
Yesterday, Benschop said that instead of forcing Goodman’s already grieving family to wait for several months to know whether the victim is Goodman, he offered to pay for a DNA.
Benschop said that though it is quite expensive to conduct the tests in Guyana, it is important for Goodman’s relatives and the public to know whether the body is that of their loved one.
He said that with the approval of the police, the DNA tests would be done at a local lab.
“At this point in time the family members of that teacher need immediate closure and we are willing to pay whatever it cost to help them,” Benschop posited.
He questioned why the Guyana Police Force sends samples to be tested overseas when it can be done locally.
“If they cannot afford to do it here then the police should seek help from family members and other persons who are willing to help,” Benschop posited.
He added, “When they send these samples overseas, it takes forever to come back here and in some cases, it never comes back here and why it is family members have to wait so long to get closure.”
He said it is unbelievable that the government spent over $1B on the recently commissioned forensic lab at Turkeyen which cannot do DNA testing.
When contacted, Commander for A Division, Clifton Hicken, said that the way forward in this case would be after his investigative ranks view the pathologist’s report which should be done today.

Missing Nyozi Goodman

Asked whether the force will accept help to do the DNA locally, the Commander said that he is not sure and that only the Commissioner of Police, Seelall Persaud can determine that.
He also said that he was not aware of any case where a DNA was done locally.
According to a postmortem conducted at the scene, the victim was bound, stripped naked and bled to death after being repeatedly stabbed.
Though Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh reportedly found striking similarities in the victim and the still missing teacher, a brother of Goodman who was allowed to view the remains said that it was too decomposed for him to establish whether the victim was his sister.
This newspaper understands that the slain woman was about five feet, five inches tall, appeared to be of African ancestry and was between 25 to 40 years old. She is believed to have died some three weeks ago.
And, according to sources, the missing teacher is about the same height, and she also had a ‘rotting tooth’ which is a feature that was observed on the remains.
Goodman disappeared on July 06, last. She was last seen at the National Sports Hall where she took a few of her students to participate in the Inter-Secondary Schools’ Basketball Championships.