[UPDATED] Gruesome discovery in Cunupia stream - BODY PARTS IN BAGS

WHAT started with a man spotting a human foot in a shallow stream in Cunupia turned into a full-scale search of the watercourse by police which lasted for several hours on Monday afternoon. What they found was shocking and frightening.

The officers found bags containing body parts believed to be from at least two men. In two bags –  near where the human foot was found – police found entrails in one, and a torso in the other.

About 150 feet further down the stream, sources told Newsday, the police found another bag which contained a human leg. The stench of decomposition quickly filled the air as the police opened the bags.

The drama began at around midday when the man went to Gillies Road, off Mon Plaisir Road, to pick flowers near the stream for prayers. He spotted a foot sticking out from under a piece of foam and called the police.

Officers from the Cunupia CID secured the area while they awaited the arrival of undertakers to remove what they said was the lower portion of a left leg. Police sources said the leg was severed just above the knee.

Police sources also said when officers noticed other bags strewn about the stream near to where the first body part was found, they decided to call in the Homicide Investigations Bureau (Region III).

A party of officers including crime scene investigators soon arrived and a meticulous five-hour search of the stream followed.

Newsday arrived to find the area cordoned off and undertakers from David Guides Funeral Home of Couva and Boodoo's Funeral Home of Cunupia waiting nearby.

The areas where the body parts were found were processed and photographed by the crime scene investigators, after which the district medical officer examined the remains. The undertakers took the body parts to the Forensic Science Centre in St James.

Police sources said evidence that may be crucial in ascertaining the identity of at least one of the victims, namely a tattoo, was found on the torso.

The stream is off an isolated stretch of road with no houses nearby. The grass was so tall that farmers were seen going about their business, seemingly oblivious to the gruesome find the police had made in the stream.

An officer told Newsday it was the first time in his career he had seen a crime scene such as this one, where body parts in bags were strewn all over the place. He described the dismemberment of the legs and torso as similar to what is done with chickens and ducks in a poultry shop.

Up to 5 pm, police were still at the scene continuing investigations.

This story was originally published with the title "Human leg found in Cunupia stream" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

A man who went to a stream in Cunupia to pick flowers for prayers stumbled across a severed human leg on Monday afternoon.

Newsday was told the man went to Gillies Road, off Mon Plaisir Road, saw a foot sticking out from a piece of sponge foam at around 12 pm and called the authorities.

Police from the Cunupia station went to the northern side of the road and saw it was a left leg. They said the rest of the body is still unaccounted for.

Up to 2.35 pm, police were waiting for the arrival of crime scene investigators and homicide detectives.