Missing St. Stanislaus teacher…Mother losing faith over results of DNA tests

Oct 01, 2014 News

Carol Green still anxiously awaits the results of tests reportedly being done on samples taken from the skeletal remains

Missing teacher
Nyozi Goodman

of a woman believed to be her daughter, Nyozi Goodman, even as her confidence in the way the police are handling the matter is waning.
It’s been more than two months since the remains were found at Pattensen, East Coast Demerara, and although Green had positively identified a belt that was lying at the scene, she believes that the police are not doing enough to solve the case of the missing St. Stanislaus teacher.
For Green, the police are pinning their hopes of moving forward with the case on the results of the samples sent overseas to determine definitively if the remains are those of Goodman who disappeared on July 6 last, shortly after supervising students who were participating in the Inter-Secondary School Basketball Championship at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue.
After the game, Ms. Goodman reportedly told her students that she would be staying behind, as she expected someone to pick her up and take her home. A taxi driver admitted to taking the teacher to the gymnasium, but denied that he had picked her up after the game.
Police had questioned the same taxi driver about the disappearance of Police Lance Corporal Patriena Nicholson in August 2009.
The missing teacher’s mother is of the opinion that her daughter’s matter could end up in the cold case file if the investigation continues the way it is going presently. She said that she has been asking questions of those involved in investigating the matter, but has been receiving no proper answers.
According to Green, it’s been almost two months since Crime Chief Leslie James assured her that the results of the samples sent overseas for testing would have been available in a month’s time.
Green told Kaieteur News that from all appearances, the police are dragging their feet on the matter.
“I spoke to him (Crime Chief) and he told me that he will call me whenever he has any further information; I’m still waiting,” a distraught Green recounted.
She is hoping that her daughter’s case does not end up like that of former Demarara Bank employee, Sheema Mangar.
In Mangar’s case, samples that were supposed to be sent overseas for testing had remained in Guyana for several months following a grave misunderstanding among the persons who were responsible.
But while Green is positive that it was her daughter’s remains that were found, she is still being optimistic and is urging the police not to put all their eggs in one basket.
“If the results come back and it does not match, what is the next step? It looks like the police don’t even know,” she added.
She said that although the police have assured her that they are still searching for her missing daughter, she does not believe that this is the case.
“In my mind I feel that this will just rest down, especially with all the work the police have to do at this time,” Green said.
A call to the Crime Chief yesterday was not returned to this newspaper.
Meanwhile, Goodman’s request for her permanent teacher’s certificate has been granted.
“They tell me that I can pick it up, but I am not going,” Green declared.