Says they suspect foul play in the death of their 25 year old brother
PHILIPSBURG:--- The relatives of the late Avinash Balram (25) an American national and native of Suriname is calling on the police department and the Public Prosecutors Office to further investigate the death of their 25 year old brother.
Balram's body was found in a sitting position early Saturday morning under a mango tree at the residence of his girlfriend's mother who lives in Dutch Quarter. Maria Singh and Amanda Balram told SMN News that they do not believe that their brother killed himself by hanging. The two sisters said that based on what they know so far and the behavior of their brother's girlfriend and her mother they believe that something is amidst with his sudden death which has been ruled as "suicide by hanging" by the police department and police doctor.
The sisters said that their brother grew up in the United States and just over a year ago he came to St. Maarten to spend some time with his mother and other siblings. Shortly after arriving on the island he met a local girl and he moved in with her in their Dutch Quarter residence. The sisters said that time and again they were being called by the girlfriend and her mother complaining about the young man's behavior but when he tried to move back to his mother's house in Back Street the young woman with whom he was living threatened him by telling him if he ever left her she would have him deported.
The two sisters said that while the young man's mother and sister are residing on St. Maarten the family with whom he was living called their 84 year old grandmother at 4am (USA time) to inform her that her grandson killed himself. "I am his sister, his girlfriend Ashley and I have been friends for six years prior to her hooking up with my brother and instead of her calling me to tell me that my brother was dead, they called our grandmother who is in the USA. I got a phone call from the family after 6:54am Saturday morning and I was asked if I was busy and if I could go to the residence in Dutch Quarter, when I got that phone call at no time did anyone tell me that my brother was dead. Instead I was told that my brother took his girlfriend's credit card, used up all the monies on it and the family did not have any food in their house. I was further told that he went home drunk Friday night and they locked him out of the house. Shortly after (7:05am) his girlfriend called my boyfriend and she was crying and somehow she mentioned that Avinash was dead. It was then I went to the scene with my mother and the police who was already there told us to wait outside as they were busy investigating at the scene where the body was found. The sisters said that based on what they saw they do not believe for one moment that their brother took his own life, they said that there is more to this story and thus the police and prosecutor have to further investigate. The sisters said they went to the police station on Tuesday and met with a female inspector who told them that their brother took his life and despite telling the detective that they do not believe that and would like to have an autopsy conducted on the body, the police inspector told them that if that is what they want then they would have to pay all the expenses including hotel and airline ticket for the pathologist to come to St. Maarten to conduct an autopsy. The sisters said day by day the girlfriend and her mother are acting more suspicious. They said Saturday night the mother and girlfriend showed up at their home in Back Street with an immigration officer and informed them that they brought an immigration officer with them because they do not want trouble. "We are grieving the tragic death of our brother besides that if they are not guilty of anything why did they bring along an immigration officer with them at the wake." Maria said that she called the family on Monday to inform them that they were on their way to pick up her brother's belongings including his birth certificate, she further explained that when she called she was told by Ashley's mother that Ashley had taken in and the ambulance was at their house taking care of her. Maria said in less than five minutes they were at the house in Dutch Quarter and there was no ambulance there and no one in the area heard or had seen an ambulance. Furthermore both Ashley and her mother were busy cleaning and washing clothes when they reached there to pick up her brother's belongings.
In an invited comment Public Prosecutor Tineke Kamps said that she was at the police station on Tuesday morning and a detective informed her of the family's concerns and she will ask the detective to write down the family's concerns and when she gets that from the detective the Prosecutors Office will study it to see if there is any need for further investigation. Kamps indicated that the forensic department was on the scene and they conducted an investigation and as such the body was not confiscated for further investigation. When asked how long would it take before the Prosecutors Office takes a decision on whether or not they need to investigate further, she said that might take a few days.
