A post-mortem examination (PME) conducted on the body of the 41-year-old man, whose body was found at the Kitty Seawall one day after leaked videos went viral of him and another man allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl, has revealed that he was murdered and did not commit suicide as was earlier reported.
Dead: Sherwin Apple, also called “Yellow”
The body of Sherwin Apple, also known as “Yellow”, was found lying face down in the mud in the vicinity of Selena Resort on Tuesday morning. It was suspected that the clothes vendor, formerly of William Street, Kitty; and Silver Town, Wismar, Linden, had ingested carbon tablets after the videos went viral on Monday.
However, an autopsy conducted on Wednesday morning by State Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh on Apple gave the cause of death as asphyxiation (strangulation) with compression injuries to the neck.
The PME findings have confirmed the worst fears of Apple’s family, who have since revealed that no trace of poison was found in Apple’s system.
In an interview with Guyana Times on Wednesday, family members noted that they were doubtful that he would commit suicide and are furthermore of the belief that the circulation of the video and its backlash led to his demise. As such, they are calling for justice.
Apple’s sister, Shonette, said she spoke with her brother on Monday in relation to the viral video, noting that he did not feel good about it and had cried as he was saddened over the situation. She said it was the last time she heard from him.
She explained that her brother had also told a friend and his uncle that he was receiving threats over the video. The woman noted that he promised to talk with them concerning this, however, he went missing on Monday evening.
“On Monday, after five (pm) was the last time that I spoke to him… He said to me, ‘Sis, the video is not now, it’s over a year’. At the time he used to work in the interior, and he said that (incident) happened at that time. His phone was lost, so he didn’t get to delete anything out of the phone. He was saying too that it’s not a young girl,” the sister related.
Shonette further stated that one of Apple’s friends recalled seeing him sometime after 21:30h on Monday, shortly after he left his home after receiving repeated calls on his cellphone.
Apple’s sister continued that while she does not condone what happened in the video, her brother did not deserve to be killed, but rather should have been handled by the law.
The woman added that one of the persons who put the video on social media had a “personal problem” with her brother. She is confident that whoever killed him caught him from behind in an unexpected move, as she noted that he was a fighter.
Meanwhile, Apple’s mother, Valda Daniels, told Guyana Times that she did not get to speak with her son in relation to the video, but said she spoke with him on Monday morning and he was in good spirits.
Following the discovery of the body, Daniels said the family travelled to Georgetown to identify the body and were shocked at what they saw. She added that there appeared to be marks on her son’s neck and head.
“I want justice for my son. The Police must find whoever did this. Two sons I got and the other one crying. It just breaking me heart,” the distraught woman lamented.
Daniels described Apple as very loving and called for a full investigation into his death. Daniels said she is against the sharing of such videos, noting that her son’s death can be seen as a result of these actions.
“Whoever shared that video, I think the Police should hold that person… they bombard my son,” she said. Apple, a clothes vendor formerly of Silvertown, Wismar, Linden is survived by three children.
On the other hand, Police have since arrested another male suspect from Linden who also appeared in the video with the teen. It is alleged that the two engaged in sexual activity with the teen against her will. The man, who was arrested on Tuesday, remains in custody as investigations by the Child Care and Protection Agency and the Guyana Police Force continues. The teen has since denied that it was her in the video.
