The body of a woman which was found at the bottom of a precipice in Salybia, off the north east coast, on Sunday has been identified as 18-year-old Deliah "Sunshine" Simon.Homicide detectives identified Simon yesterday afternoon, using her fingerprints which were taken off her body, shortly after it was discovered on Sunday morning.
A search in the Police Service's criminal database revealed that in 2010, Simon, of Bagatelle Extension Road in San Juan, was charged with assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and using obscene language.The records showed that Simon was convicted of those offences and that she was arrested again earlier this year, this time for a praedial larceny offence in Blanchisseuse.
Investigators said that while attempting to identify the victim, over the past few days, they were contacted by two families–one from Tobago and the other from south Trinidad–who believed that the body was that of their relative, who went missing recently.The families were initially scheduled to visit the Forensic Science Centre in St James tomorrow to help identify the body but they would no longer be required to do so.An autopsy is expected to be conducted at the centre this morning.
Investigators were said to be waiting for the results of the autopsy to confirm her cause of death but said there was strong evidence that Simon was sexually assaulted before she was killed. They also said her body had several other marks of violence.Police had not established a clear motive for her murder, up to late yesterday.Matura police and detectives of the Region Two Homicide Bureau are continuing investigations.