By Rishard Khan

Copyright newsday

AN autopsy will be done on September 26 on the body of the woman who was found dead at Clifton Hill beach on Republic Day. The autopsy will be done at the Forensic Science Centre, St James.

Shelawaithie “Meera” Bedasse’s son Russell, told Newsday he was informed on September 25 that the autopsy would take place on September 26 at the science centre. He is hoping it bring much-needed answers to the mystery surrounding his mother’s disappearance and death.

Bedasse, 57, left her Southern Main Road, Coromandel Village, Cedros home at 7.30 am on September 23, for work at a variety store in Point Fortin. Relatives were told that by 8.30 am that day, she complained of feeling unwell and told coworkers she was going home to rest.

She left the store but never returned home. Calls to her phone went unanswered. She was found at the beach around 6.30 am on September 24, with a rope around her neck, prompting suspicions that she died by suicide. However, her son, who is a police officer, refuted the notion saying she was murdered and that the scene may have been staged.

He argued it was unlikely Bedasse would go to the beach after she had a traumatic near-drowning experience there and suffered from a skin condition that was aggravated by salt water/sea spray. Additionally, he said she was deeply involved in family life and would have confided in relatives if she was troubled or depressed.

Russell also raised concerns over his mother’s movements leading up to her disappearance. He said she went to the Cap-de-Ville taxi stand near KFC and got into a silver Y12 station wagon after speaking briefly with the driver.

“She had no business being at that stand. Based on how it looks, she went (with the driver) with fear,” he told Newsday on September 24.

Police eventually found the driver who said he had dropped her off at Neighbourhood Hill which is near Clifton Hill. He was questioned but not detained.