Bird-hunting trip turns deadly at Garden of Eden

…family calls for Police to reopen investigation

By LaWanda McAllister

A 31-year-old father of three, who has been identified as Simon Peters of Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara (EBD), was found dead in a trench at Garden of Eden Backdam on Thursday afternoon by his father, after leaving with his friend for a bird hunting trip.

The dead man’s father, John Peters in an interview with Guyana Times on Tuesday said after his son left their home on Thursday afternoon at about 15:00h, all efforts made to contact him thereafter proved futile.
The man said after realising that something was amiss, his son’s wife began calling his friend’s phone, but those calls went to voicemail.
He said hours later, his son’s friend went to their home asking for Simon, which caused them to become worried.
“They left to go catch birds, and he come late and ask me where is my son because he don’t know where he is. He said he and my son went together and then he go one side and my son go the other side…and he said when he come out to come home, he see me son bird on the road, he phone and he gun,” the father said.
“He said after he didn’t see me son, he walk and he come home. He said he went to my son house and then he go back to the conservancy where they was checking for bird. He said he went and come back again. When he come back, he said he come and ask me for ‘Sio’ [the son’s nickname],” he said.
The man said that he told his son’s friend that he did not see Simon, and insisted that they return to the area where his son’s belongings were found.
“He tell me he call for Sio and he in hear no noise and that was like around 7:30 (19:30h), I ended up going back to the place. I take a torchlight and me and he go and look. I ask he where is the last place where you pick up his things and he pass and go up straight.”
“When he walk up he said he see my son in a yellow jersey up the road but I don’t know is who he see…because my son didn’t have on no yellow jersey at the time. He go home for the next time and come back to the spot again. When he come I ask him to show me the bamboo my son cut and he show me the spot.”
“He walk lil more up and he didn’t see my son, but my son was right where he walked at the side laying down there. I don’t know how he couldn’t see him when he wasn’t in no corner or anything. I don’t know the cause of that. I walked behind and I see my son and take him up from where he went,” the man explained.
John Peters said he remembered lifting his son up and putting him on the concrete, and from his observation, his son seemed as though he had died sometime before they got there.
“Right away I got my nephew’s car and we took him straight to the hospital and the doctor pronounced him dead and from there, the hospital called the Police.”
Following the incident, John Peters said an autopsy was conducted on his son’s body and the results revealed that he died from blunt trauma coupled with drowning.
The family believes that the man was murdered and claimed that something about his friend’s story does not add up.
“We believe that he was murdered.”
The family is calling for the Police to reopen their investigation and a thorough probe to be conducted into the incident.