A post-mortem examination conducted on the remains of second-year University of Guyana (UG) student Harris Anthony Persaud revealed that he died from drowning.
This is was confirmed by Commander of ‘A’ Division Clifton Hicken, who told Stabroek News that Persaud’s two friends who were arrested following his disappearance, have since been released.
Persaud’s body was found on the foreshore at Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara on Friday afternoon, two days after he went missing.
The autopsy was facilitated yesterday due to the state of the body and in order to determine his cause of death before the lawful 72-hour detention period expired.
Persaud, 19, a second-year Civil Engineering student of UG and of Lot 21 Granny Field, Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara, was last seen alive on Wednesday with two friends.
He was seen leaving the Turkeyen Campus around midday on Wednesday and reportedly journeyed to the apartment of his two friends, with whom he was later seen entering a car. They reportedly travelled to the Kingston seawall, behind the Marriott Hotel, to swim.
Under questioning, the friends told the police that while they were swimming a wave washed Persaud away.
They said they subsequently disposed of his belongings along the East Coast Demerara railway embankment road.
His body was discovered around 5 pm on Friday by his relatives, who had formed a search party following his disappearance.
The dead boy’s father yesterday told this newspaper that he is convinced that foul play was not involved in his son’s death, while noting that there were no marks of violence about his body.
His mother, Sunita Persaud, had told this newspaper that her fears grew on Wednesday evening after her son did not return home and night was approaching. The woman said several calls were made to the teenager’s cellular phone, all of which went unanswered.
As a result, his father along with other relatives began a search. They visited his work place, H. Nauth and Sons, and were told that he had not turned up for work and continued to search.
She said they eventually decided to search on the Kingston seawall on Thursday. During this time, the two friends, who were arrested, were also present. “Is when they reach behind Marriott, one of the friend who went sit down in the car start holler and my husband ask what happen and he said that they went swimming and a wave pull him in and he disappear,” Sunita had explained.
