A man who went missing last Monday was on Wednesday found floating in the Demerara River and relatives believe that he was murdered.
Trevor Melville, 51, a miner who relatives said didn’t have a fixed address at the time of his demise was staying at one of his sisters, Thelma Charles at Land of Canaan on the East Bank of Demerara.
His niece, Lurline Smith told Stabroek News that her uncle went missing since last Monday and after efforts made by relatives to locate the now dead Melville were fruitless, a report was made to the police.
On Wednesday, the family received a phone call about the discovery of a man floating in the river at the Fisheries which is also located on the East Bank Demerara and upon their arrival, the man was positively identified.
Smith said that the last place her uncle was seen was at a residence in Friendship, East Bank Demerara. She added that persons in the area witnessed when Melville was being beaten and he was calling out for help, but nobody wanted to come forward and testify. The home where her uncle was last seen was also pointed out to them, the woman said.Relatives of the dead man are also claiming that the corpse bore visible wounds which suggest that he didn’t just drown. Smith recalled that her uncle was beaten before and was threatened by some of the villagers that he would be killed should he return to the area.
Melville separated from his wife a few years ago after he suffered an accident. He fathered six children and mostly worked in the interior.
Relatives said that the police told them that they are waiting on the results of a post-mortem examination, which is expected to be done tomorrow.
Melville leaves to mourn six sisters, two brothers and his children.
