The Police have no leads as to what caused the death of a 14-year-old whose body was found at Moamoa over three weeks ago according to the deputy commissioner

This was confirmed by Deputy Police Commissioner Auapa'au Logoitino Filipo in a brief interview with the Samoa Observer this week. 

But the Police are still investigating the circumstances that led to the death of the deceased.

Auapa'au said there has been a lot of rumours about what might have led to the death of the 14-year-old, but there is no solid evidence to prove the claims. 

Moreover, he said they are waiting for a forensic pathologist to carry out a post-mortem on the body of the deceased which is now at the Moto'otua National Hospital morgue. 

The body of the 14-year-old was discovered by a man who was making his way to his plantation and notified Police over three weeks ago, according to Auapa'au. 

The Deputy Police Commissioner said that a couple from Moamoa had stepped forward to the police with the claim that the deceased was their son.

“The couple told Police that their son went missing for a week and they have relayed that their son is 14-years-old.

“But according to our preliminary findings it seems that the body has been [decomposed] for quite some time and has been exposed to the sun and rain for a long time.

“We have not ruled out foul play in our investigations but we are still looking into this case.”

The Police investigation is pending an autopsy to be performed by a pathologist.

“At the moment, the body of the deceased is at the carried out a post-mortem examination awaiting the forensic pathologists for proper confirmation on the cause of death.”

In a previous interview, Auapaau said more than five people were reported missing in the past five months and some are missing persons cases that remain open and are unsolved.

The majority of the victims who’ve been reported to have gone missing are young girls. 

In other recent police investigations, Auapaau also confirmed that the force has apprehended a man, who allegedly ran over a 17-year-old teenager of Puapua in Savai'i and is suspected of putting three others in hospital.

The Deputy Commissioner said that the driver of the vehicle who is alleged to have been behind the wheel at the time has already been charged with negligent driving causing death.