Soldier died from blunt trauma – post-mortem

A post-mortem examination on the body of Gordon Sayers, the soldier who was found dead in an army barrack at Camp Stephenson, Timehri on Sunday morning showed that he died from cerebral haemorrhage due to blunt trauma to the head.

Police confirmed the findings of the autopsy, which was done by pathologist Nehaul Singh, in a press statement issued yesterday afternoon.

The Guyana Defence Force says that it launched its own investigation simultaneously with the police. It is not clear if any member of the army has been arrested following the results of the autopsy.

Up to Sunday evening no one was arrested, but a high-ranking officer in the army had disclosed that several ranks were questioned by investigators. The body of Sayers was found in a barrack room at Camp Stephenson with what police said were marks of violence to his head. The dead man had lived at army Headquarters, Camp Ayanganna, Thomas Lands.

Police said in a release on Sunday that they were investigating the suspected murder of Sayers whose body was found about 1:30 am with marks of violence to his head. The army would only say that Sayers was discovered dead in a barrack accommodation. The GDF revealed that at approximately 1 am on Sunday one of the security personnel at the base discovered the soldier lying on the floor of the barrack accommodation with a wound at the top of his head. Sayers who was stationed at Ayanganna was among a group of soldiers heading to Tacama, another army base located in the Berbice River. According to reports while on their way the men’s vehicle developed some mechanical problems and as such they were forced to stay at Camp Stephenson, Timehri on Saturday night.

Stabroek News was told that bloodstains were found on the frame of the upper bunk of a bed in the barrack room in which Sayers was found dead. Investigators also recovered a bottle containing an alcoholic liquid at the scene. Stabroek News was told that Sayers, who was hypertensive, had only recently visited the hospital.