WEST HAVEN, Conn. — Nearly four months after the body of a West Haven woman was found in a river, friends and family of 29-year-old Roya Mohammadi are calling for action from West Haven Police to further investigate her death.
A vigil was held on Monday night at West Haven City Hall to demand justice.
The friends and family of Mohammadi are asking for two things after the vigil: for police to investigate her death on a deeper level and for support from public officials to hold police accountable in an investigation.
To her parents, Roya Mohammadi was their first-born child. To her friends and colleagues, she was a translator and aspiring marketing professional.
“Roya had a tremendous impact on this community. I mean, she has been here I think since 2019. But it feels like she's been here a lifetime. This was her community, her chosen community, and it has devastated not just everyone that she's left behind here but so many family abroad and friends abroad,” said her coworker, Vanesa Emely Suarez.
Mohammadi was a 29-year-old Afghan immigrant who called West Haven home. The same place she called home is where her life ended when police found her body near a river in West Haven just one day after her colleagues reported her missing on March 2.
“The weekend was spent breaking the news to the woman in our community who knew her closely trying to be there for each other as we all dealt with the shock, anger and sadness of what happened,” said Camila Guila-Chavez
Now, almost four months later those same colleagues, along with community members, and her family back home in Afghanistan are advocating for her death to be investigated on a deeper level.
“They're not taking her life or her death seriously. And they're ignoring the fact that she was a victim of ongoing serious domestic abuse that West Haven police has plenty of documented evidence,” Suarez said.
The call for a deeper investigation into Mohammadi’s death comes after an autopsy determined she drowned.
At the vigil, those closest to her disagreed with the autopsy. They argued Mohammadi reported a history of domestic violence over a span of two years and told West Haven police she feared for her life.
“It's not OK for the police to make it to devalue Roya in this way,” said Suarez “So we're here to apply for your story. We're here to stand in solidarity with the family. We're here to stand in solidarity with all victims of domestic violence and to let them know they are not alone. And we will not let this kind of injustice go on.”
FOX61 reached out to West Haven to confirm the domestic violence allegations.
DeAndria Turner is a multi-media journalist at FOX61 News. She can be reached at dturner@fox61.com.
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