Days after the decomposed bodies of 38-year-old Petrous Ross-Latchman and her 13-year-old daughter, Gabrielle Ross were found in their Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD) home, a post-mortem has not determined the cause of death.
This was according to Police in a release to the media that stated that the autopsies were conducted by Government Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh, who gave the cause of death as “undeterminable”.
This, he stated, was due to the conditions of both bodies. The bodies of the mother and daughter were found by the woman’s estranged husband and a carpenter.
It was reported that Ross-Latchman was unemployed, while Gabrielle, who was partially visually impaired, was a student at North Georgetown Secondary School. The house had been rented by Petrous’s husband for her and her daughter.
At the scene, the woman’s estranged husband had explained that he last saw Petrous in January 2023 when he visited the house and was denied entry.
Distressed but unsure of how to proceed, he decided to respect her wishes and maintain his distance.
He said during his last visit, the owner of the house, who resides abroad, returned to Guyana and had requested to inspect the property. He said he attempted to contact Petrous prior to his visit but received no response. Alarmed by her silence, he promptly reported the matter to the Police.
Accompanied by a carpenter and law enforcement officers in January 2023, the man said he forcibly entered the house and found the woman in the house in good health. He said he left the house, and Petrous told him that she was only going to stay at the rented property for three months and then leave.
However, on the day the bodies were found, the man was contacted by the landlord informing him that she is in the country and wanted to do another inspection of the property.
“I come to the house today (Wednesday), I rap and call and me ain’t hearing nothing so and I went back to the station we didn’t get any Police because they said it’s a private matter but the owner said she needs to see inside the house because she has the contract and is her house. When we return, we open the wooden door and we get a stench and went back to the station,” he explained.
Upon arriving on the scene, Police officers ventured into the house, and the bodies of Petrous and Gabrielle were found in an advanced state of decomposition.
