Moka Detectives Investigate after 2 Professionals Die Poisoned in Petit Verger Garage

Two corporate professionals found dead inside a garage at an under-construction property in Petit-Verger died from carbon monoxide poisoning, post-mortem examinations have revealed.

Manisha Budhoo, 24, a compliance officer, and Norvic Salesse, 31, a DevOps manager, were both employed at Trident in Ébène.

Their bodies were discovered on Thursday evening, 28 May, inside the garage of the unfinished house, triggering an investigation by the Moka Criminal Investigation Division (CID).

The Discovery and Emergency Response

The alarm was raised when Mr Manoj Budhoo became deeply concerned after his daughter, known for her serious and ambitious nature, failed to return home or answer her phone.

Despite sometimes working late hours at Trident, her silence was described as uncharacteristically heavy.

At approximately 21:00, the Budhoo family searched the nearly empty office car park in Ébène, but Miss Budhoo’s newly purchased car was missing.

After Ébène police were alerted, three police vehicles patrolled the sector without success. The breakthrough came when Mr Budhoo called his daughter’s phone again, only for the call to be answered by Mr Salesse’s mother, who urged him to come quickly, stating his daughter was unwell.

Police units deployed to the incomplete Petit-Verger house, which belonged to Mr Salesse, who had been residing at Cité Padco, Quartier-Militaire, while building work progressed.

Inside the closed garage, investigators found a black car with its doors shut. Miss Budhoo was found unresponsive inside the vehicle, where a physician from the Service d’Aide Médicale d’Urgence officially pronounced her dead at the scene.

Mr Salesse was initially found barely breathing by his brother inside the garage. He was rushed to the C-Care Wellkin clinic, where his fiancée and an individual identified as P. attended his bedside, but he succumbed shortly afterwards.

Forensic Findings and Investigation

Chief Forensic Pathologist Dr Sudesh Gungadin and his colleague, Dr Maxwell Monvoisin, conducted a double autopsy, independently concluding that both victims died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Blood samples from Miss Budhoo have been submitted to the Forensic Science Laboratory for detailed analysis.

Detectives from the Moka CID have launched an inquiry to establish how the two colleagues came to be inside the closed garage, and whether the vehicle’s engine was running.

Officers confirmed they are not yet in a position to declare the exact circumstances. Several individuals, including Mr Salesse’s fiancée and a friend identified as D. M., are scheduled to be formally interviewed in the coming days.

Promising Careers Cut Short

The double tragedy has left both families devastated. Miss Budhoo, who had previously studied in New Zealand, was reading for a Master of Laws degree and aspired to return to New Zealand to pursue her legal career.

She was engaged to be married and had recently purchased a car, which her father noted remains missing.

Mr Salesse was established in his career as a DevOps team leader and was actively building the Petit-Verger house as part of his future plans.

Source: l’Express