Mass. medical examiner's office to review deaths of three Revere women in Belize
Friends of the three women,
who were of Moroccan descent, have expressed doubt about the possibility that they overdosed, noting that at least one of them made a point of abstaining from drugs and alcohol.
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'When I graduated, Imane didn't want me to go to a party, she said she didn't want to go because there would be drinking there,' Hajar El Khalfaoui told WCVB-TV. 'That was the kind of person she was. So when they said that it was OD, I will never believe that was true.'
The death of the three women has stunned
'I have heard widespread concern from the families and community members about the lack of transparency in this investigation, and the media narrative painted by Belizean authorities,' Revere Mayor Patrick Keefe said in a statement this week.
Al-Marhama Islamic Burial Services in Brighton said Thursday it
would handle the bodies once they arrived in the United States. State investigators had not received the bodies as of Friday morning, Driscoll said.
On Thursday, Kaoutar Naqqad's sister, Nisrine Naqqad, of Tewksbury, said that 'as soon as they have landed and are buried, we are going to provide all of the information we got from the investigation. But for now, we want to wait until everything is done.'
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The US State Department is 'in touch with and collaborating closely with the local authorities' investigation into the deaths,' a department spokesperson said Thursday.
The three friends were graduates of Revere and Malden high schools. El Arar was a gynecologic research technician based out of Massachusetts General Hospital, while Mallah worked at a Charlestown-based private security firm.
Material from previous Globe coverage was used. This story will be updated.
Camilo Fonseca can be reached at
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