An emotional group of relatives looked on in sombre silence as police excavated a body believed to be 19-year-old Shabana Mohammed, missing since January 3.
The body, which was found after a foul stench led to its discovery near Mohammed's Santa Cruz home, has been taken to the Forensic Sciences Centre, St James, for autopsy.
The teen was last seen on January 3 at home. On the day that she went missing, relatives found signs of a struggle, and reports were made of screams coming from the house.
North Eastern Division officers returned to the scene on January 8, along with Crime Scene Investigators and Homicide Bureau officers, who collected two large bags of evidence.
A manhunt may soon be underway, as heavily armed soldiers were also at the crime scene.