Headless body in suitcase a…QC student

Oct 04, 2010 News

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– mother, ‘stepfather’ in custody

Inheritance at centre of sordid tale of sex, drugs and abuse

By Janelle Carter

The headless body that was found in a suitcase at Emerald Tower Resort has been identified as that of 16-year-old Queen’s College student, Neesa Lalita Gopaul. Detectives have unearthed information suggesting that she was lured into a life of drugs and sex by two adults who then killed her out of greed.
They have since detained the girl’s mother, the woman’s lover, who is a gym instructor, and a third female, while impounding a car which they suspect was used to transport the grisly cargo to the desolate highway resort.
Gopaul, of Lot 13 Leonora, West Coast Demerara, was positively identified at around 18:30 hrs yesterday evening after detectives took the mother and the victim’s grandfather to the Lyken Funeral Parlour to view the remains. Gopaul’s mother was then taken back to La Grange Police Station.

The grandfather, Mohammed Kayum, told Kaieteur News that he was able to identify his granddaughter’s clothing.
In a brief interview with this newspaper, Mr. Kayum indicated that he was certain who his grand-daughter’s killers were and why she was slain.
Detectives are following several leads, including one which indicates a property that had been bequeathed to Gopaul by her late father could have led to her murder. The teen’s father passed away a year ago.
Another theory investigators are checking on is that the teen was slain by an individual who repeatedly drugged and sexually molested her.
Investigators believe that she was killed a few days ago.
Gopaul was reportedly last seen alive on Friday. The teen’s mother had reported her missing on September 25.
The report was made at the Leonora Police Station. A passport bearing Gopaul’s name was found in the suitcase in which her body was stashed, and this helped detectives to ascertain that the victim and the missing teen were the same individual.

Troubled Teen

Revealing that the teen had led a troubled life, a close associate of the teen said she attended Queen’s College and was always an ‘A’ Grade student.
But she started on a downward spiral after her father died suddenly.
According to reports, the teen was convinced that his death was not due to natural causes.
Persons close to the teen said her schoolwork deteriorated and she became rebellious.
A source close to the investigation said that Neesa along with her mother visited the Leonora Police Station some time ago with allegations that the girl was being drugged and sexually molested by a man who was know to mother and daughter.
However, a few days later, Neesa and her mother returned to the police station with a sworn statement signed by a Justice of Peace saying that the teen was never sexually molested by the individual.
According to sources close to the family, the teen began expressing fears for her safety.
According to sources, she identified one of the individuals as the man who she had accused of drugging and molesting her.
Police sources confirmed that the man was recently remanded on an assault charge but was granted bail.
Kaieteur News was told that Neesa also began to confide in persons that an individual was attempting to force her to
give up possession of assets that were allegedly bequeathed to the teen by her father.
According to a resident, about two weeks ago police were called to the house after the teen reported that someone was trying to gain entry to the house.
At the funeral parlour, the slain teen’s grandfather, Mohamed Kayum, was overheard questioning Neesa’s mother about going to the Emerald Tower resort.
In response the woman admitted to going to the area years ago.
Mr. Kayum also said he last saw his granddaughter about two Fridays ago when he cooked her favourite meal.

System failed Neesa

While the police said they were aware of some of Neesa’s problems, persons close to the teen expressed the view that the system failed her.
This newspaper was told that at one point, Probation Officials became involved in the case, and Neesa was sent to live with her grandmother.
“We aint know wha happen but after a while with she grandmother the mother collect she back.”
Many expressed the view that more could have been done for the teen as her cries for help went unheard.
“She would tell us stories about being given something to drink and then she would wake up the next morning in pain,” one source said.
One of the teen’s associates said the teen even expressed interest of fleeing the country but was hesitant of leaving her six year-old sister in the situation.
“Neesa was a beautiful gir

l, she was doing excellent in school but…”
One close friend of the teen said she was prepared to take Neesa into her home but she couldn’t afford it.
“If I had only done that, that child would be alive today. She was dealing with so much….”
Some friends said that they eventually became unable to communicate with the troubled teen since the family’s telephone and Neesa’s mobile phone were disconnected.
“Although we knew where Neesa was living we didn’t want to go for fear to adding fuel to the fire.”
Neesa Gopauls’ headless body was discovered on Saturday in a suitcase near the Emerald Tower Resort at Madewini, off the Soesdyke/Linden Highway.
The black suitcase was dumped into the Madewini Creek. A length of rope was wrapped around the body and the killer(s) had attached a heavy metal object to the other end of the rope in an effort to weigh the body down.
The victim was wearing a pair of black shorts and a multi-coloured top.
The victim’s passport and a bank card were found with the remains.
The gruesome find was made around noon by a family that had gone to the abandoned resort to swim in the Madewini Creek.
On reaching the creek, the family became aware of an unpleasant odour and observed the black suitcase in the water.
Suspecting the worst, they immediately summoned a male relative who was in the area. The man said that he poked the suitcase with a stick and saw what appeared to be part of a body protruding from it.
He then summoned the police.
The man and others suggested that the killer was familiar with the area and that he had taken his victim there by vehicle. The resort is about a mile off the highway and can only be accessed by a trail.

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