Her parents didn’t answer her phone calls on Thursday September 21. To find out for sure, their daughter Kamini Sookur, 47, from Stanley, Rose-Hill, came to Flat Rittoo, Clairfond N0 3, Vacoas, to ask about them. With the help of her ex-husband, she entered the house. It’s a macabre scene. Her mother Indira Sookur, née Gokool, 67, was lying lifeless on a sofa. Her father Presram Sookur, 77, was lying on a bed upstairs. Police suspect foul play. The autopsy attributed the sexagenarian’s cause of death to suffocation. The death of her husband could not be established. One of the hypotheses of the investigators in this case is that the husband committed suicide after killing his wife. They are awaiting the report from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Réduit, to which the victim’s stomach contents were sent, to ascertain the cause of death.
On Thursday September 21, Kamini Sookur tried to contact her parents. There was no response. Until late afternoon, she was without them. At around 9:30 pm, she made her way to Flat Rittoo in Clairfond N0 3, Vacoas. Her parents’ house was locked. She managed to open a window, through which she saw her mother lying on a sofa in the living room. She called her several times, but there was no answer. She then called her father, but he didn’t answer either.
In the end, she decided to call her ex-husband, who lives in the Camp Levieux, Rose-Hill area. Shortly afterwards, her ex-husband arrived on the scene. They tried to open a door, but it was locked on the inside. With a hammer, her ex-husband smashed a pane of glass so he could open it with his key, which was in the lock.
As soon as she was inside, she went to see her mother. The latter was lying lifeless on a sofa. Her father was lying on a bed upstairs. The forty-year-old then had to call the police. A team of police officers led by Sergeant Bangaleea arrived at the scene of the “crime”. The scene was secured, the Vacoas Criminal Investigation Division (CID) was called in, elements of the Scene Of Crime Office, the police photographer and draughtsman, officers from the Forensic Science Laboratory and a police dog arrived on the scene.
After Dr. Sheila Jankee-Parsad, Principal Police Medical Officer, had carried out an initial examination of the two bodies, they were transported to the Victoria Hospital morgue in Candos for an autopsy. The autopsy was carried out this Friday morning, September 22. Dr Jankee-Parsad attributed Indira Sookur’s cause of death to asphyxia. She had been suffocated. Presram Sookur’s cause of death could not be established. Her body was in the early stages of decomposition. The septuagenarian had been taking medication. The hypothesis that he took his own life by ingesting excessive medication or other substances cannot be ruled out. The murder-suicide hypothesis is more plausible, given that the couple’s house was locked from the inside.
The Central Division CID, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police Sailesh Kumar Omrawo, and the Southern Division Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT), led by Superintendent of Police Heman Dass Goorah, are investigating the case.
