A rou­tine au­top­sy on a child who was be­lieved to have choked to death on the week­end was halt­ed mid­way yes­ter­day, af­ter the pathol­o­gist dis­cov­ered marks of vi­o­lence on the body and or­dered a full-scale au­top­sy.

Mean­while, the hunt for a close male rel­a­tive con­tin­ued, as in­ves­ti­ga­tors be­lieve he may be able to as­sist with the case.

The four-year-old girl, who lived with rel­a­tives at Sea Lots, Port-of-Spain, was re­port­ed­ly tak­en to the Wendy Fitzwilliam Pae­di­atric Hos­pi­tal on Oc­to­ber 9, af­ter she was found un­re­spon­sive at home.