Murdered pensioner died from manual strangulation, blunt trauma

Feb 25, 2015 News

A post mortem examination conducted on 73-year-old Suroogpattie Ramlakan, also called ‘Auntie Carmen,’ has yielded some clues that may help police to catch her killers.

Strangled: Suroogpattie Ramlakan

Police said that the post mortem revealed that the pensioner died from manual strangulation, compounded by blunt trauma to the head. But the pathologist’s examination also revealed that the elderly woman was not raped.
A senior police official said that detectives have questioned several residents, and are pursuing a number of leads.
The pensioner, who lived alone at her Richmond, Sideline Dam house was discovered dead last Friday by a young female neighbour, who had called for her earlier that day without getting any response.
Her night dress was pulled above her knees and her neck bore lacerations. There were other injuries that indicated sexual assault. Detectives also found a packet of condoms below a window through which the killer(s) reportedly gained entry. A raincoat was also found at the scene.
Detectives believe that Ramlakan’s killer dragged her off her bed sometime between Thursday night and early Friday morning.
Residents later saw blood dripping from the slain woman’s floor.
Police said that the victim was last seen around 19:30 hrs on Thursday.