Blunt trauma to head is cause of death – PME

Body found in well at Puruni

As new information emerged into to death of a miner whose decomposed body was found floating in a well at Puruni Landing, Mazaruni, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Police are now working on the theory that he might have been murdered.

An autopsy performed on the body of 29-year-old Calvin Hamilton of Aranaputa, Annai, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), by Government Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh, revealed that the miner had died as a result of blunt trauma to the head and asphyxiation due to drowning, compounded by compression injuries to the neck.
Following the PME results, the police are now of the opinion that the miner might have been murdered. However, speaking with Guyana Times, Regional Commander Linden Lord said that investigators can only come to this conclusion when the probe is completed.
“Only the investigation can reveal that. A team of investigators went out into the area to investigate and to ask questions from persons to ask if that was the case. We continued our investigations after the PM after we saw that he received a lot of injuries…”, he explained.
It was reported that on the day in question, Hamilton, who was employed by the Hard Rock Mining Company in the Puruni Backdam, Mazaruni area, had left the site at around 16:00h and went to the Puruni Landing and was not seen since by his employer or colleagues.
However, at about 17:30h on the same day, a 40-year-old businessman told Police that he saw the miner imbibing alcohol at his bar, and left sometime after.
The businessman further related that two days later, he instructed one of his workers to pump water from his well and it was then Hamilton’s body was discovered.
Ranks were summoned to the scene, and the partially decomposed body was pulled from the well and an investigation was launched.