Mother still seeks answers after daughter died consuming beverage

Oct 19, 2008 News

A mother is still seeking answers after her daughter allegedly died as a result of consuming a ‘Mountain Dew’ beverage some fours years ago.
Yesterday, Patricia Newland, of 63 Den Amstel, West Coast Demerara, told this newspaper that on October 14, 2004, her daughter, Collette, a University of Guyana student at that time, bought the beverage at a shop close to campus. She later complained of severe burning in the throat and stomach.

Troubled mom, Patricia Newland

The mother said her now deceased daughter began spitting, and soon after lost her sight, then collapsed. She was reportedly rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) by the shop owner and friends, but died at around 19:00 hrs the said day.
Now, four years have passed and Patricia complains that she still has not been able to get her daughter’s death certificate. She said that the doctor responsible for its issue have told her that he can issue the certificate but it will be inconclusive, since he has not yet received the required reports from the police.
She said that she has contacted the Alberttown Police repeatedly over the years, and among other excuses offered, they have said that the matter is out of their hands, since her daughter’s body parts and a sample of the beverage are with the forensic laboratory in Barbados for testing.
The emotional mother said that at one stage she was told the laboratory was under repairs, which was several months ago.
The mother says she desperately needs to know the cause of her daughter’s death to determine what action she would take, but for years she have been unable to act on the matter, due to the prolonged delay in the entire process.
The woman said that at on stage she wanted to have a lawyer intervene in the matter, but she decided against that form of action since she was advised by relatives that ‘she was not financially equipped to battle the beverage company legally’.

The deceased Colette Newland

Patrica Newland told Kaieteur News that she is sometimes unable to sleep when she focuses on her daughter’s death since ‘there is always this huge bundle of unanswered questions rolling around in her head. She said that she is longing for an end to the ordeal. She wants the relevant authorities to help her make her life peaceful again.
When the Alberttown Police were contacted yesterday for a comment, a male rank there informed that he was not at liberty to discuss the issue. He advised that al queries be made to the station tomorrow, when personnel will be available to answer such questions.