Mentally-ill Maraval woman who went missing from St Ann's Hospital declared 'dead' by court

A HIGH COURT judge has granted a presumption of death application to the surviving children of a mentally-ill Maraval woman who they last saw in 1994 while at the St Ann’s Psychiatric Hospital before she allegedly “disappeared” from the institution.

Since then, Viola Melville’s children have tried to get information about her mother, searched St Ann’s and Port of Spain and the women’s prison, and even posted advertisements in the newspapers seeking information on her whereabouts.

Melville was 69 when she mysteriously went missing and would have been 97 had she been alive today.

Eight of her children filed affidavits in support of the application to have her presumed dead and her daughter Claire Anna Bailey said the 11 surviving siblings were entitled to a share of their mother’s estate.

On Monday, Justice Frank Seepersad granted the application and had Melville presumed dead on November 10, 2021.

The family was represented by attorney Verson Elton Jeanville.

In their affidavits, the children said Melville had a history of mental illness and was at the hospital around May 1994 when one of her sons was told she was “acting up.”

He said he was told by a nursing assistant if his mother hit her, she would retaliate. He said this was strange as she had “aged a bit and was generally well-behaved.” He said he believed someone told her about their father’s death in February of that year which triggered her aggressive behaviour.

Wayne Melville said he told his mother to behave as she could be harmed and that was the last time he saw her.

Two weeks later, his other brother received a call from the hospital telling him his mother went missing four days earlier. He said he was confused and concerned since she was not a person to wander or leave the hospital. Viola had been a patient at St Ann’s for over 40 years. Her last stay there was for 15 years. Her children say her mental illness led to her being violent but when she was not experiencing one of her episodes, she was the “nicest person to be around.”

At Monday’s hearing, Seepersad said having regard to the affidavits before him and that 27 years had passed since she was last seen, the evidence suggested Viola Melville was presumed to be dead as of November 10, 2021, when the last set of advertisements was published.

Seepersad acknowledged the situation would be difficult and emotive for her family since they never received the closure of knowing what happened to their mother.

He said what was disturbing to the court was that she was in the custody of a state institution at the time of her disappearance.

“It is unfathomable that a citizen suffering from mental illness who was in the charge of an institution could just disappear without accountability or information forthcoming to explain what happened.

“It is as if this elderly lady simply vanished.”

He also said it was particularly disturbing that although there were processes at the hospital to record the movements of a patient, there were many instances where they were not engaged.

Seepersad said when he practised criminal law as an attorney before becoming a judge, he knew patients were not allowed to leave a ward without a nurse, and a ground pass was needed to leave the hospital’s grounds. He said there would be a proper record to establish the whereabouts of a patient but also acknowledged that up to 2012, there were times when the processes were not followed and people went missing.

Seepersad said another challenge was that a taxi service was allowed to run through the hospital’s compound, and security were there for property checks and not to restrain patients found wandering out of the hospital’s gates.

As he expressed hope that proper systems have now been effected, Seepersad said citizens with mental health issues cannot be treated without respect, and systems must be implemented to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

The judge said going missing from the hospital was no different from escaping prison.

He also expressed hope the stigmatisation associated with mental illness could be removed so citizens can receive the best treatment as it was no different from having diabetes or hypertension.

“What occurred with this patient should cause us to hang our heads in shame and register a sense of disgust.”

He said not because she was elderly and not wealthy her unexplained absence should lose importance and priority and the necessary change are effected now to ensure “this unacceptable situation never reoccurs.”

The family, he added, should also receive an apology from society for what they have been subjected to including the trauma, emotional and financial stress associated with filing the application.