Baby Oriyah laid to rest 

Mar 29, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – Seven-month-old Oriyah Gravesande, who died after falling off a bed at a day care and suffocating, was on Tuesday buried.

Oriyah was pronounced dead at the Georgetown Public Hospital on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. She was left in the care of a day care located at Ogle, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

Oriyah was the daughter of Shavannie Gravesande and Odysseus Clement. The grieving parents had revealed that their child was dropped off at the day care located in Ogle, on Tuesday morning (March 21) “in good health” not knowing that would have been the last time they saw their baby girl alive.

Dead:  Oriyah Gravesande

During an emotional interview, Gravesande said, “I was made to understand they murder my daughter, they murder my daughter.”

According to the woman, her daughter fell into the corner of a bed in a sheet which reportedly suffocated her.

“So by the time they could have called me to come down, she had arrived at the Health Center unresponsive. By the time they could have bring her to Georgetown Hospital, she was pronounced dead on arrival due to suffocation,” the distraught mother shared.

“How can a day care be so irresponsible, to allow my child to fall down and suffocate?” the young mother questioned.

“First thing, the day care lady deprive me entrance to see how and where my child really fell, telling me how child care does come every day to inspect so there is no need for me to come in,” the mother said.

According to the woman, her daughter had gone home with a swollen head, prior to her death. She recalled that an employee of the day care had told her, “Your baby is in safe hands.”

Last Wednesday, a post-mortem examination (PME) was conducted on baby Oriyah, revealing that she died from hemorrhage and compression to the neck. The PME was conducted by Government Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh, at the Georgetown Public Hospital’s Mortuary.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) in a recent statement disclosed that the owner of the day care has been placed on station bail, as the case file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, on Monday for legal advice.

According to the Police, a joint investigation was conducted by investigators from the GPF, the Child Care and Protection Agency, and the Ministry of Human Service and Social Protection. As the Police await the legal advice from the DPP, the day care owner is required to report to the Sparendaam Police Station daily.

Moreover, officials had revealed that while the day care owner had been operating for the past 27 years, they are not licensed to do so.

• Dr. Nehaul Singh, Georgetown Public Hospital, Odysseus Clement, Oriyah Gravesande, Shavannie Gravesande