Williams, 19, died under very suspicious circumstances but despite the pleadings of his parents, police have done very little to explain and more so investigate the circumstances surrounding his death. They said the wounds on his face told a different story from drowning, which was part of the findings of a post-mortem examination.
A police official told this newspaper that from investigations it was concluded that it was a case of drowning. However, he could not if the complaints made by the parents were investigated.
Stabroek News has been told of many cases of missing persons and mysterious deaths in Mousie backdam.
Jocel and Nixon Williams are so desperate for justice that one month ago they managed to get a little money to fly to the city. However, since their arrival they have had very little success with the police and to further add to their troubles, they have no money to return home.
The sad couple recently visited Stabroek News to tell their story, but Nixon was too distraught to speak and it was his wife who did all the talking.
Jocel recalled that her son left the Amerindian village last September to work on his brother-in-law’s dredge as a jet man. Like many young men in the village, she said, he was forced to seek employment there because there were no jobs available in the community or nearby.
Weeks later, on October 25, she said she received a message saying that he had drowned the previous day. The grief-stricken woman said no other information was given and in haste she and her husband packed their bags and travelled to Mahdia by plane.
She recalled that when they arrived in Mahdia, they took a taxi to a junction and then a land cruiser which would have taken them into the backdam. However, while on the road leading to the backdam, they met a group inclusive of police transporting their son’s body to Mahdia.
Jocel said her son’s body was covered with plastic but when she inspected it, Williams was naked and there was blood flowing from his left ear.
In addition, she said, his face was “black and blue’. Photographs the woman showed this newspaper confirmed that there were suspicious wounds on his face which took on the appearance of him being struck with a blunt object.
She said neither the police nor anyone else could explain the presence of the marks or produce his clothing. The woman told this newspaper that they were told that their son and another worker were heading to the dredge when Williams fell into a trench which had been dug using an excavator to drain water from the mine.
She said the police told them that they had only recovered one side boots but no clothing.
Jocel stated that after spending one day in Mahdia, she and her husband accompanied the body to Georgetown where a PME was conducted at the Georgetown Hospital morgue.
She said the police did not arrest or extensively grill the man who was in Williams’s company when he reportedly drowned.
“Initially, I thought that it was my son alone but when I found out about the other boy and I later asked him how far my son was from he when he fall in de trench. He seh how he was a short distance away. After dat he ben down he head and said nothing more,” the woman said.
She told this newspaper that when she asked if he didn’t hear the splashing sound when her son fell into the trench, he did not respond.
“I told police of our suspicions and they said they will investigate,” she said adding that nothing had been done.
Journey to town
She said the death of her son who is the third of her five children came as a big blow to the family as he was their helper in every regard, including financially. Jocel said that having already lost a child eight years ago, she wanted to ensure she got justice.
“One month now we in town because we are trying to follow the investigation and get the police to act,” the woman added.
She detailed how she went to police at Eve Leary thrice. She explained that the first time the policeman who was investigating her son’s case was not there.
The second time they visited, she said, the policeman was there and told them he was going to take a statement from the man who was in the company of Williams when he died.
The third time, they visited, the policeman told them he didn’t have a chance to take the statement because he had another matter to deal with.
The woman said that she is disappointed with the attitude of the police “because is so long we waiting on a feedback”.
Need to go home
The woman said they need to go home because her eight-year-old son was left in the company of her elderly mother. She said that when they came to Georgetown, the intention was to check on the progress of the matter then return home.
She said the days turned into weeks because they were not getting the sort of satisfaction and help they expected.
She said now the little money they had is depleted and they have no way to return home.
Jocel explained that at the moment they are staying at the Amerindian Hostel.
Flying is the only means of getting back home and the total cost for the trip would be $60,000.
