Senior police officers from St Mary are meeting to review the post-mortem results which contradict original reports that seven-year-old Tee-Marie Bennett drowned after she was swept away by flood waters in the parish last Tuesday.

A post-mortem was conducted on the body of the child about 3 p.m yesterday and revealed that she died from strangulation and had possibly been sexually assaulted. Her body was found three days after she was reportedly washed away.

Corporal Angella McTaggart, the Constabulary Communication Network's liaison officer for the parish, told THE STAR the senior officials were locked in a meeting reviewing the autopsy results and statements from family members and witnesses.

She said the post-mortem had not been conducted by the regular government pathologist but by another pathologist who was sitting in and added that by today or later this week, a decision would be taken as to whether another post-mortem was needed.

THE STAR was told that statements from witnesses describe the child being swept away and were therefore inconsistent with the findings of the examination.

Reports are that about 11 a.m. last Tuesday, Bennett was on her way to a nearby shop in the community when she was swept into a culvert by flood waters. A search-and-rescue operation was launched by police and residents and her body was later found in a culvert at Spring Head, Oracabessa, about 5:30 p.m. on Christmas Day.