The parents of the missing student at the University of Pittsburgh Sudicksha Konanki have asked for Dominican authorities to declare their daughter dead. Their request emphasizes the heartbreaking realities for the loss of a child and to deal with the legislation of a missing person.
Investigators believe that Connanjes had drowned “and no evidence of a fake game was found,” writes subbarbaudu and Sredi Konanki in a letter received by CNN, with a request from the police “to continue with the legal declaration of her death.” As of Thursday, the investigation of her disappearance by the National Police of the Dominican Republic continues.
“We understand that certain legal procedures must be followed and are ready to comply with all the necessary formalities or documentation,” the letter from Connani’s parents said. “The initiation of this process will allow our family to begin the grieving process and deal with the issues related to its absence.”
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Sheriff in Virginia, where the Connanje family lives, told CNN that although it “supports the wishes of the grieving parents of G -Konanki to seek closure in their demand that the law enforcement bodies recognize the death of their daughter.”
“This still does not confirm what exactly has happened and we can never know for sure, but the sheriff (Mike) Chapman believes that the investigation into DR is to be completed before the case is closed,” Sheriff spokesman Thomas Julia said in an email to CNN on Wednesday.
The members of the Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic observe images transmitted by drones as part of the conjunction operation, as employees investigate its disappearance as drowning. – Erika Santilices/Reuters
In the Dominican Republic, police usually do not declare anyone who has deceased without finding a body or evidence of a crime, according to Dominican lawyer Julio Curie. In this case, investigators have none. A declaration of death without an organ should happen through a special law from the Congress of the country or the president, Curie told Jessica Hasbun to CNN. There is no specific time frame for this process, Curie said.
The US Embassy on the Dominican Republic’s website states that it needs an original local death witness in order to prepare a consular report on death abroad.
In Virginia, one can be considered dead after disappearing in several scenarios according to the Law of the Community, according to Naomi Kahn, a professor of law and a concentration of the Center for Family Law at the University of Virginia.
According to one provision, one can be considered dead seven years after their absence. For another, there may be a death declaration in Virginia, before the seven years ago they were over if there was a situation where someone was exposed to a “specific danger of death,” the code said.
“Probably what happened here may be a sufficient basis for determining at any time after exposure (at a specific danger of death) that it is assumed that the person has died less than seven years,” Cannes told CNN.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s service offers support to the family through a victim’s lawyer to help them navigate the two -step process to establish a reason for the death of death and after a court procedure, “or another process if the Konanki family wants it,” Julia told CNN.
Possible reasons to seek death statement
One of the reasons the family seeks the declaration of their daughter’s death is simply to close, said the personal injury and criminal defense lawyer Philip Diluzente.
“From a parent position, they want to honor their child and be respected – their desires – to be declared dead because they are under the impression, based on all the evidence given to them in this circle, that this is a case of drowning,” Diluzete said.
“With a deep sadness … and a heavy heart, we get to the conditions with the fact that our daughter has drowned. It’s incredibly difficult to process,” said Father Subabaudu Konanki in an emotional interview with WTTG Tuesday. “We kindly ask you to keep your daughter in your prayers, we still have two young children to take care of.”
“I think everyone would agree that they respect the wishes of the family,” Diluzente said. “Nevertheless, law enforcement, as well as the medical specialist, would have their duty (to manage death) and this obligation exceeds any desire.”
“There is still no body so that an autopsy can be carried out, which in itself is difficult for the authorities to decide whether to declare someone who has died, especially in these circumstances,” Diluzhete added.
Another reason to seek the death declaration, said Diluzente, it may be so that the property is opened and every will and will apply. For example, any existing college savings plan in the name of Connani can be used for their other children, and insurance policies can also be worshiped and paid, the lawyer explained. Until a death certificate is issued, these things remain in an inertial period, he said.
Finally, Dilucente noted, until the property is opened and there is no administrator for the property, a case cannot be brought against any person or entity.
If the Konanki family wanted to seek some kind of lawsuit, the death declaration would also determine the type of case and the damage to death, said UVA Kahn professor.
The Konanki family did not indicate plans to judge on behalf of Sudicksha’s death.
The Konanki case reminds of the disappearance of 2005 of 18-year-old Natalie Holloway. In 2012, a judge at Alabama signed an order to declare Hollway a legitimate dead.
The teenager’s father filed a petition to declare his daughter dead, six years after Holloway was last seen to leave a nightclub on the Caribbean island of Aruba with Joran Van der Slout and two other men. No one was accused of disappearing and her body was never found, although later Van der Sloight admitted that she was killing her.
The lawyer of Holloway’s father, Mark White, said at a time that the order – who acted as a death certificate – would help to resolve Natalie’s estate, which still has a small college in her name and is named as a participant and beneficiary in his father’s health insurance.
Cnn’s Mark MoralesJessica Hasbun, and Chris Boyet contributed to this reporting.
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