Missing UG student drowned – autopsy

Joel Skeete, the 19-year-old University of Guyana (UG) student whose body was discovered on the west bank of the Demerara River on Monday, died as a result of drowning, an autopsy confirmed yesterday.

Skeete, who went missing last Wednesday evening after visiting a barbershop, was discovered among boulders on the river bank in vicinity of Belle Vue, West Bank Demerara.

Stabroek News was told that it was fishermen who alerted police to the area after stumbling upon the body. The discovery was made on Monday afternoon around 1.45pm.

The teen’s uncle, Julius Skeete, yesterday told Stabroek News that the police made contact with the youth’s mother, Lorenza Griffith, around 6pm on Monday and asked that a family member visit the funeral home. He stated that Griffith contacted him and requested that he undertake the visit.

According to the uncle, he was able to identify his nephew’s body from his physical features and his clothing.

“I know him and when I saw him I was able to positively say it was him,” the distraught uncle said.

He added that from the examination of the body yesterday, there were no signs of foul play and Joel’s phone along with a key were found in his pocket.

“In circumstances like this, you will always have unanswered questions and this is no different because we cannot say what happened. It is very difficult for the mother because he is the only child. It is hard for the entire family also. We never expected this and throughout it all we hoped for his safe return,” the uncle lamented.

A statement from his family on Saturday said that Joel was last seen leaving the barbershop at the Harbour Bridge Mall, at Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara, around 7 pm. He was dressed in a dark red T-shirt, dark grey long jeans, and red slippers.

Skeete was a Computer Science major at UG.

With the news of his death, the University yesterday announced that its Care Team was ready to give whatever support is needed to his family and friends, including those who taught him who are deeply disturbed and saddened. “The University community mourns his loss and hopes that the authorities will be able to provide answers so desperately sought by those who survive him,” UG said in a statement.

Griffith previously told this newspaper that the last time she saw and spoke with her son was around 5pm last Wednesday afternoon, when she left him at a shortcut road connecting the East Bank Public Road to Republic Park. “I was going to town. So I dropped him by the shortcut to walk out to the Public Road and I continued to head to town,” she explained.

Griffith further said that her son was in contact with her two more times before he was last seen at the barbershop. “He communicated with me around 6.35 pm that he was now getting his hair cut because apparently he had to wait on the barber. Then at about 7.10 pm I spoke with him and he said he was leaving the barbershop to come home,” the mother told this newspaper.

The woman said that communication with Skeete after their last interaction was unsuccessful. She said that she is uncertain of how Skeete was returning home on Wednesday but added that it was customary for him to use a taxi when he was returning home after dark. “He would usually walk [home] but if its dark and he’s coming home, the usual thing is to go and get a car to come in because we have some safety concerns in terms of walking in alone when it’s dark,” Griffith informed.