LITTLE LONDON, Westmoreland — The grandniece of Viola Destin, whose mummified body was found Sunday, 18 months after her death, has dismissed suggestions that the family failed to realise she had died, as they were uncaring.

On Wednesday the woman, who asked not to be identified by name, told the Jamaica Observer they heard rumours, a year ago, that 70-year-old Destin had died, but after checks with the local hospital and funeral homes, they had been unable to confirm that information.

“The family said, okay then, because we heard that she was at Old Hope [community], we believed that she was in Old Hope the same way. For me, mi never take it that she is dead. We took it more as a rumour. It is not like that we did not care, because I see persons saying that we did not care or whatever. We did search,” the grandniece reiterated.

“You have the person there for two years; we can’t be happy,” she added when asked for a reaction to news that her elderly relative’s lifeless body had been inside a house all this time.

According to the woman, Destin had experienced mental issues while going through menopause and, as a result, lived with various family members on different occasions. However, she was unable to say how her grandaunt ended up with a caregiver in Old Hope.

According to the police, Destin died on Tuesday, December 10, 2023. However, instead of reporting her death, her live-in caregiver, 54-year-old Gena Robinson, reportedly concealed the body inside a room at the house.

A relative of the deceased summoned the police on Sunday, July 6, after becoming suspicious. Destin’s decomposed remains were reportedly seen lying on a mattress. Robinson could be slapped with charges of failure to report the death of a person, preventing the lawful burial of a corpse, and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Robinson has been described as a calm, no-nonsense, spiritual woman who loved to feed children. Word of the discovery of Destin’s mummified body has sent shock waves throughout her community, including among Robinson’s relatives.

One man who said he is related to her, told the Observer, Wednesday, of the sense of shame he feels. He was unwilling to provide his name for the record.

“She lived in the district for so long and had that very genuine behaviour,” he said.

“What went down, we are not sure because they are still investigating. But to be honest, knowing that I am from the district and it is painted all over the country, right now, I am afraid to tell people that I am from here. It has left such a bad reputation on us,” he said as his voice quivered with emotion.

He struggled to come to grips with the grisly discovery.

“Away from that, it does happen and we have to accept that it happened. This is real life. Everybody was thinking that this is impossible, but it is real. What I want to know now is how the lady died,” he stated.

According to him, he never saw Destin at Robinson’s home.

“The only people I saw there were two young ladies who came and worshipped with [Robinson]. When she’s worshipping, it is something to talk about. Sometimes they run around the house and make a lot of noise,” he said.