Adriana’s family wants  CoI into her death

Jun 02, 2025 News

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…challenges first autopsy findings, police probe- lawyer

Kaieteur News- With the second autopsy of 11-year-old Adriana Younge completed, her family is considering formally petitioning the Government of Guyana to launch a Commission of Inquiry (COI) into her death.

This is according to the family’s lead attorney, Dr. Dexter Todd, who on Sunday, outlined the next moves for the family.

Todd appeared on the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) weekly programme “Nation Watch.” There, he explained that the family will pursue several legal avenues in their quest for justice. One of the immediate steps, he said, is to challenge the findings and report of the first autopsy.

“We’re going to be doing that because, if left the way it is, it sets a problematic precedent for criminal investigations in Guyana,” Todd stated.

He argued that the initial investigation leaned too heavily on “textbook approaches to drowning” and failed to connect all components needed for a comprehensive conclusion. “It is a cause of concern internationally, that we have treated this whole investigation of drowning a bit too much by textbook, so to speak. And we have not really connected a very, all the various components of this investigations to come to those findings. And so, there is going to be a need for us to revisit the first autopsy.”

The second legal route involves examining the Guyana Police Force’s handling of the case.

“The entire investigation in this case will have to be reviewed,” he said. “We are now mapping out what are these various steps to challenge that in a court of law.”

The third and most significant step, according to Dr. Todd, is a formal petition to the government to launch a CoI.

“We are also going to be considering, and this will be clearly for various organisations, to plead with government to hold a commission of inquiry in this regard, “Todd explained. “So, with a commission of inquiry, you get an opportunity to interrogate all that was done and not done in this matter and to make certain recommendations.”

He added that the outcome now depends on whether the government is willing to support such a move.

“That’s going to fall back into the hands of the government, to have government’s approval in that regard. And I don’t know whether that is something, whether that is a posture that they are going to take in this matter. So, we’re going to have to do it, “he said.

Todd noted that there will be other legal representatives assisting in the case. He revealed that several international lawyers have expressed interest in the matter, particularly due to growing concern over how drowning cases, especially those suspected to be homicidal, are handled in Guyana. “This particular matter in terms of the legal leg will be assisted by a number of lawyers internationally, who are concerned about the precedent being set in relation to how cases of homicidal drowning are dealt with in Guyana and to have that properly defined in sense,” he said. “So that is going to be one of the first areas that will be dealt with in relation to the legal position.”

Meanwhile, Leonard McCoshen, a retired officer from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), on Friday praised the Guyana Police Force, for what he said was a thorough investigation into Adriana’s case.  He stated he was given over 400 pages of documentation and a wide array of digital forensic evidence.

“It is very apparent to me that members who investigated this incident took the utmost time and considerable effort to speak to any and all persons that had any information to provide,” McCoshen stated.

He praised the care shown in documenting Adriana’s case and described the Police Force’s efforts as “exceptional”.

“The facts surrounding a great deal of care in documenting the movement of the body of Adriana Younge, after she was taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, is exceptional and something that I have not seen before,” the former sleuth said.

Adriana’s family has however maintained that critical questions remain unanswered, especially regarding the timing, condition, and cause of death.

The 11-year-old, who days before had written the National Grade Six Assessment, was reported missing on April 23 during a family outing at the Double Day International Hotel and Bar in Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo. Her body was discovered the following day in an upright position in the hotel’s pool, nearly 20 hours later, despite earlier searches of the same area.

Family members observed visible bruises and scratches on her knees, elbows, face, hands, and toes. Strikingly, she was found in an upright, standing position in the pool and reportedly showed no signs of bloating, an indication typically associated with drowning.

The first post-mortem examination was conducted on April 28 by a three-member international forensic team, including Dr. Shubhakar Karra Paul (Barbados), Dr. Gary Collins (Delaware, U.S.), and Dr. Glenn Rudner (Mount Sinai, U.S.). The team concluded that the cause of death was drowning but did not determine the time of death or whether Adriana had inhaled pool or tap water.

Unconvinced by the findings, Adriana’s family arranged for a second autopsy in the United States. Her body was flown to Atlanta, Georgia, where Dr. Carol Terry, Chief Medical Examiner of Gwinnett County, conducted the procedure.

In an interview with journalist Travis Chase, Dr. Terry called the case “highly suspicious” and emphasised that only a thorough investigation could determine whether Adriana drowned or was murdered. “At this time, drowning cannot be conclusively stated as the cause of death,” she said.

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