IN MARCH, FOUR PERSONS DIED FROM ALLEGEDLY INGESTING A TOXIC SUBSTANCE RESEMBLING STRONG RUM.

The bodies of the victims of the Coolie Town incident have finally been released to their families, now that the forensic investigation has ended.

In March, four persons died from allegedly ingesting a toxic substance resembling strong rum.

At a joint meeting with officials from the Royal St. Lucia Police Force, the Ministry of Health and Pathology, the Director of Forensic Science Services at the Forensic Lab, Fernanda Henry, explained the importance of determining the source of the deaths, and assessing those who survived.

“The investigation still continues so that the Ministry of Health can have some direction on how to treat patients if there are any outstanding or longstanding effects to the exposure of the substance. From the pathology perspective, we kept the bodies until the forensic results were available. We have since released the bodies to the families,” she said.

“But the criminal investigation continues so that we can determine a source, gain a good understanding of what happened, and try to prevent it from happening again,” she added.

The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force and the Ministry of Health have reserved comment until the criminal investigation has concluded.