[UPDATED] Mystery over body in back seat of Morvant woman's car

Police are trying to understand how a man's body ended up in the back seat of a woman's parked car in Morvant between Thursday morning and Friday afternoon.

Police said the 45-year-old woman parked her silver Suzuki Baleno on Pommerac Boulevard, Coconut Drive, Morvant, at around 11 am on Thursday.

When she returned at around 6.45 pm on Friday and opened the driver's door, she saw a man lying in the back seat.

She called the police and Morvant CID arrived with a district medical officer who declared the man dead.

The woman told police she did not recognise the man and did not know how he got into her car.

Investigators said the man had no marks of violence on his body. He was of African descent, about six feet tall, and appeared to be in his late fifties. He was wearing a black vest and green, white and grey boxer shorts.

Police said they were also confused and were continuing further interviews and viewing security-camera footage for more information.

Sources said the man's body was taken to the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on Monday, but was later sent to the Port of Spain General Hospital's mortuary for storage and will be swabbed for covid19 pending identification.

Speaking with Newsday via a telephone interview on Monday, the woman, who asked not to be named, said she was upset over the situation and hoped relatives who could identify the man could be located.

She suspected that the doors to the car became unlocked at some point, allowing the man to enter, but admitted that she did not have a clear idea what had happened.

"It's very strange. A few neighbours said they saw someone dressed like him in the park earlier, but I didn't see the person.

"Things like this really don't happen.

"Apparently I bounced the remote of the key, and maybe the person was cold and went inside to sleep, and I guess when the sun rose the heat caused him to suffocate.

"I'm not happy. I'm really concerned I'm sorry this happened. It's my property that was involved, but also someone lost their life. I'm definitely not happy about that."

The woman said she would have hoped  the man would approach her home first before getting into the car, so she could help him.

The car was still parked on the street when Newsday visited.

One nearby resident, who asked not to be identified, described the incident as tragic and strange.

He said none of the residents in the area recognised the man, but some claimed they had seen him wandering there shortly before his body was found in the car.

"It seems like he was a wanderer, but we don't know who he is. We got information that he was sighted in a park nearby sometime before.

"I remembered hearing screaming on Friday, so I ran out thinking someone tried to hijack her and steal the car, but we saw it was a man in the back seat.

"We tried to wake him up, but he wasn't responding. That's when we called the police."

The resident suspected the car owner had accidentally left the car unlocked, and that was how the man got in.

Another woman said she generally kept to herself, but was saddened to hear about the incident.

Morvant CID are continuing enquiries.

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

Police are trying to understand how a man's body ended up in the back seat of a woman's parked car in Morvant between Thursday morning and Friday afternoon.

Police said the 45-year-old woman parked her silver Suzuki Baleno on Pommerac Boulevard, Coconut Drive, Morvant, at around 11 am on Thursday.

When she returned at around 6.45 pm on Friday and opened the driver's door, she saw a man lying in the back seat.

She called the police and Morvant CID arrived with a district medical officer who declared the man dead.

The woman told police she did not recognise the man and did not know how he got into her car.

Investigators said the man had no marks of violence on his body. He was of African descent, about six feet tall, and appeared to be in his late fifties. He was wearing a black vest and green, white and grey boxer shorts.

Police said they were also confused and were continuing further interviews and viewing security-camera footage for more information.

Sources said the man's body was taken to the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on Monday, but was later sent to the Port of Spain General Hospital's mortuary for storage and will be swabbed for covid19 pending identification.

Newsday visited the area on Monday to try tospeak with the woman who found the man, but she was not at home.

The car was still parked on the street when Newsday visited.

One nearby resident, who asked not to be identified, described the incident as tragic and strange.

He said none of the residents in the area recognised the man, but some claimed they had seen him wandering in the area shortly before his body was found in the car.

"It seems like he was a wanderer, but we don't know who he is. We got information that he was sighted in a park nearby sometime before.

"I remembered hearing screaming on Friday, so I ran out thinking someone tried to hijack her and steal the car, but we saw it was a man in the back seat.

"We tried to wake him up, but he wasn't responding. That's when we called the police."

The resident suspected the car owner had accidentally left the car unlocked, and that was how the man gotin.

Another woman said she generally kept to herself but was saddened to hear about the incident.

Morvant CID are continuing enquiries.