By: La’Wanda McAllister
The results of a postmortem examination on the body of missing boat captain Carl Subratie have led police to arrest several persons as they probe the possibility that the man was murdered.
The body of Subratie, 61, of Palmer’s Point, Lower Mazaruni River, was discovered below Marshall’s Falls in the Lower Mazaruni River, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) on June 29 after having been missing since June 17.
An autopsy conducted on the body showed that he died from multiple injuries and not by drowning.
As such, police have widened their investigations. This publication was reliably informed that several persons have been taken into custody in relation to the man’s death.
On June 17, Subratie had left his residence to transport a group of passengers to an interior location.
According to Sameena Subratie, the man’s daughter, her father had lived alone and worked as a boat captain for the past 27 years, primarily operating in various interior locations.
The family grew concerned on Father’s Day, the day after he left home, when attempts to contact him on his mobile phone were unsuccessful. Despite continuous calls being made until Monday morning, there was no response, prompting Sameena to reach out to her uncles to inform them of the situation.
Subsequently, the boat captain’s brothers visited the location where he had dropped off the passengers and were informed that he had indeed completed the task and had left the area to return home. Upon the brothers’ return home, they reported the matter to the police. After several days of searching, the body was discovered.
The police report noted that the body was found face-down in the river and exhibited several bruises and lacerations. The report also indicated that the body was in an advanced state of decomposition.
The body was subsequently taken to the Bartica Regional Hospital, where, after examination, a doctor officially pronounced the man dead. The man’s daughter subsequently expressed unease about her father’s death, stating that although her father’s body was found, his boat remains unaccounted for, which she found suspicious.
Contrary to the police report, she also claimed that her father’s body was not significantly decomposed and displayed what appeared to be chop wounds.
Speaking to this publication under the condition of anonymity, a family member expressed concerns regarding the case, unsure if they will ever get closure.
“We knew that this was a murder because his boat was not found, and he was not decomposed like someone who would be in the water for 13 days. Also, we were told by the doctor who did the post-mortem that the multiple injuries on his body look like he was tortured for days…”
“Also, he [the doctor] said that he only died about three to four days before we found his body, which means that nine days before he was found, he was alive and maybe held hostage where he might have been tortured. We know about five persons were arrested, but maybe more could be involved. We are angry about this,” the relative expressed.
