Mom: 'I am praying for justice,' after daughter found dead in abandoned Curepe house

THE mother of a woman who was found dead in an abandoned house in Curepe is demanding justice for her daughter's death.

The dead woman has been identified as 30-year-old Alana De Leon of Bangladesh Village, St Joseph.

Police believe she may have been sexually assaulted before being stabbed to death.

Police said they were alerted to the body's location at about 8.02 am on October 5, and arrived at 48 minutes later.

Police spoke to an informant who told them passers-by had spotted the body. When they checked inside the house they found De Leon’s body on a mattress. She was partially naked, clad only in a bra and socks. She had a cloth over her face and a knife was stuck in her neck.

Police also found men’s clothing at the scene – a dark-coloured shirt, underwear and a cap – and an empty condom packet.

Police enquiries revealed that at about 6 am on October 5, De Leon was seen in Curepe. People later told police she was saying she was going to “handle a scene.”

De Leon's family identified her body at the Forensic Science Centre on October 7.

Her mother, Rosemarie Roopchand, spoke with reporters at the centre and described her daughter as an outgoing person, who did not have any issues with anyone.

A reporter, while conversing with the family, explained that people in Curepe said De Leon was well-known in the area, at which a male relative chimed in, "She's a loving person, she does get along with everybody.

"To be real, she just liked to lime and party and she just liked fun. Any activity with fun, she liked to be around. Where it have fun, she'll be around."

De Leon's mother said she has no idea how her daughter came to be in the abandoned house. She said the way her daughter died was unexpected and hurtful, and she wants justice.

"All I praying for is justice, that whoever did this to her, they will get catch and get brought to justice."

Roopchand said De Leon liked talking about nails and hairdressing.

"My hair was the mannequin for her. She used to practise on my hair or her cousin's hair.

"She was always trying to do something. She used to plait people's hair and charge them...she (also) liked doing nails and all them things."

Roopchand said she last saw her daughter alive about three weeks ago at her stepfather's house.

"She hugged me up and I made a joke with her and told her, 'I going to sell your clothes.'

"She laughed and said she was coming for the clothes. She hugged me up and kissed me and said she loved me."

Roopchand said she did not talk or see her daughter after that day.

A reporter asked if the family believed wrong company could have led to De Leon's murder, to which the male relative said, "Well, the way how the times moving, this life in 2024 just different. Anything is possible right now."

Roopchand said the autopsy results showed De Leon died from multiple stab wounds to her head and eyes.

No arrest has been made and investigations are ongoing.