Jada Loutoo A CHAGUANAS mother and retired nurse has been permitted to advance a judicial review claim which seeks access to details of the police investigation into the death of her only daughter, Maria Kathleen Smith, in 2021. Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams granted leave to Rosanna Smith to challenge the decision of the Commissioner of Police to withhold key information about the investigation. Smith is represented by attorneys Martin George and Sarah Lawrence. According to the court filings, Maria died under mysterious circumstances. She went missing on October 15, 2021, and two days later, her body was found in the passenger seat of a vehicle parked in a forested area at Spring Bridge, Blanchisseuse, with a blanket covering her body. A hose was attached to the vehicle’s muffler was inserted into the vehicle through a slightly ajar window. The police ruled the death a suicide, despite stating that the investigation was still ongoing. Smith revealed that she had discovered WhatsApp messages showing a secret relationship between her daughter and a married police officer who was also a relative. She provided this information to the police, but over the years, she said she was repeatedly met with minimal updates and no substantive answers about the investigation. After several attempts to obtain information, including a Freedom of Information request, Smith argued that the police had failed to provide meaningful updates about interviews, evidence collection, toxicology reports, or any investigative steps taken over the four years since her daughter’s death. Smith’s attorneys say she remains “grieving and distraught, adversely affected, facing significant emotional hardship and distress due to the lack of closure concerning her daughter’s death,” compounded by the police’s refusal to give her substantive answers. She also wrote to Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander, who referred her to the police. But the lawsuit says the police have refused to provide her with “detailed information,” only providing her with copies of the same letters given before and a statement that investigations were still ongoing and investigators were awaiting the results of the toxicology report. In granting leave, Justice Quinlan-Williams ordered service of the claim on the Commissioner of Police within 14 days. The matter will be heard on February 2, 2026.
https://newsday.co.tt/2025/11/20/chaguanas-mother-seeks-answers-on-daughters-death/
Chaguanas mother seeks answers on daughter’s death
