Mother wants witnesses to son’s drowning to come forward with information

Nicole Burgin, the mother of an 18-year-old who died on January 20, is asking anyone with details surrounding his death to come forward with the information.

Sachin Charles was “allegedly removed” from the sea at Villa Beach by SVG Coast Guard Service and rushed to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, where he later died.

Just days after his death, Burgin told SEARCHLIGHT she felt like her son’s death was caused by a wilful act, having heard that someone may have pushed him into the water even though he said that he could not swim.

Sachin Charles (deceased)

And yesterday, the grieving mother revealed that she has retained lawyer, Grant Connell to help in her quest for justice.

“The police had somebody locked up and they let him go. I don’t know what is going on. I can’t be happy with that. I think they should pick up everybody and question them properly to find out what is going on, because they can’t tell me you going here and pick up this one and ask a couple questions and that’s it,” Burgin said. “It shouldn’t be like that. The police them need to be more vigilant because if I did go and do something to those children, I would have been in the barracks by now…might have been down at Belle Isle [Correctional Facility] they might have had me.”

The Diamond Estate resident said that she has been having a difficult time since the death of Sachin, who also has a twin brother named Sunil.

She said that she has been unable sleep or eat properly and has had moments where she would think of her deceased son and cry. She added that she has found it hard to go about every day activities since his death.

On the day of his death, Burgin said that Sachin left home with some friends who live in the neighbourhood. But when the incident occurred, those friends ran away from the scene, taking with them her son’s personal belongings including his bicycle, cellphone, shoes, chain and earring.

She told SEARCHLIGHT yesterday that the phone was recovered but had been wiped of all its information and the bicycle was also recovered, but it had been scrapped and taken down into various parts.

The mother of six also alleged that her younger children were being bullied by boys who were on the scene the day of Sachin’s death.

She said that at school “they was laughing and saying they push the brother over the water and one of them said to the smaller boy that Sachin die, his other twin brother next, then he and his other brother”.

“I just need people to come forward. People who saw what happened, I need you to come forward and say and if you could go and give a statement, I would be so grateful,” Burgin said.

Burgin said that the autopsy carried out on Sachin’s body said that her son died from “double portion of water in the lungs”. She also said that a bruise was present on the right side of his body.

Sachin’s funeral is scheduled for February 16 at the Mt Pathos Spiritual Baptist Church in Stubbs.