Linda Reneau Williams, 56, of Police Street, Lake Independence, Belize City, was found dead on the left side of the Western Highway around Mile 3 on Monday afternoon.
But even though police have no reason to suspect foul play and the forensic examiner has found no apparent cause of death, Williams’ family members remain unconvinced.
Police say they visited the area around 2:45 p.m. and retrieved Williams, nude, from her face down position in a pond, her clothes reportedly beside her. The mother of three adult children had been reported missing since February 7, 2009 by family members.
A post-mortem on the body by Dr. Mario Estradabran found no apparent cause of death, because the body was in an advanced state of decomposition.
But that is not enough of an answer for two of Linda’s nieces, who appeared on the television news this week complaining that police were giving them the runaround on the case.
They alleged that the police rushed them into burying the body on Tuesday evening after the post-mortem was concluded at the hospital. Traditionally, decomposed, or partially decomposed bodies require the post-mortem to be done on site, followed by burial.
Because Williams reportedly has a history of mental problems, family suspected that she may have drowned, but the post-mortem ruled out drowning because no water or other foreign substance was found in her lungs. There were no signs of violence on the body, according to police. A neighbor claims she saw Williams on the road on her way to work, and when she asked what she was doing, she reportedly said she was taking a walk.
Williams was laid to rest without ceremony on Tuesday evening.