Police in Grenada have now opened up a case of murder in the death one week ago of 24-year old LGBT member, Josiah ‘Jonty’ Robinson of Beaulieu in the St George North-east constituency.
His body was found on the popular BBC beach in the Morne Rouge area on Sunday morning.
A police insider told THE NEW TODAY that the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) now have in their hands the report of top Trinidad & Tobago Pathologist Professor Hubert Daisley who concluded that Jonty died from “Manual Strangulation”.
“The results said basically manual strangulation with injuries to the cervical spine,” said a source who saw the report.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had requested a more in-depth investigation following two local autopsies that were conducted and proved not conclusive.
The expertise of Professor Daisley was sought and he landed at the Maurice Bishop International Airport (MBIA) on Saturday morning and conducted the autopsy a few hours later.
According to the source, the report indicated that Jonty was strangled and the body thrown into the sea water.
“When they threw him in the water, water went inside him and rigor mortis took place – that is why all the blood came out,” he said.
“After he was thrown into the water rigor mortis, algormortis and the play of the gases during the composition caused the blood to flow out in the mouth, nose and ears. There were no injuries to the head,” he added.
This dispelled the theory circulating in certain quarters that Jonty might have dived into the water and struck his head which resulted in an accidental death.
The source indicated that Professor Daisley in his report detected strangulation marks on Jonty’s neck, as well as congestion of the brain, lungs, and damage to the cervical bone.
The father of the deceased is a police officer and at one time was part of the Security Detail around former Prime Minister Tillman Thomas who was in charge of the Congress government during 2008-13.
The death of Jonty sparked reaction in the LGBT community with many claiming that he was targeted because of his sexual orientation.
Police have already questioned a few suspects including someone who used to live with him.