Mystery surrounds man’s death

A single gunshot to the head should have been the end of the saga that was Nigel Farrell’s life.{{more}}

But almost two weeks after his lifeless body was found curled up next to the Bequia Anglican Primary School on August 5, family members are still at a loss as to who or what caused his death.

His relatives in Bequia are eager to lay Farrell’s body to rest, but by law, in the case of an unnatural death, a government pathologist must conduct an autopsy to officially determine how he died.



Cousin Idona McDonald, speaking to Searchlight at her mother Jean Farrell’s home in Bequia, said that the family was relieved to hear that an autopsy was to take place on Wednesday August 15th, but wondered why it had to take that long.

“It’s bad enough that he died like that but we have to wait all this time before we could bury him is stressful” she said.

She planned to be present at Wednesday’s autopsy, and up to press time was awaiting the final results.

“Brudsie” or “John Wayne” as he was also called, was a well-known character on the island who did odd jobs for a living.

“He was a friendly person who used to make a lot of jokes, but he used to drink (rum) a lot, and because of that he had some enemies.”

McDonald went on to refute rumours that her 35-year-old cousin was a homosexual.

“He knew some people who were ‘queer’ and because he hang around with them, people used to say that he was a queer too. But as far as I know he was not like that.”

Unlike the other ‘John Wayne’ who met his death last week in Lowmans Hill, Farrell was given that nick name because he liked dressing in cowboy clothes while he lived in Antigua for a period of time.

His mother Sylvia, seven of his siblings as well as an adopted daughter also live in Antigua.

His family is making an appeal for his killer or killers to come forward and confess to the crime.

Aunt Jean warns whoever is responsible that “God is not sleeping and justice must be done.”

Police in Bequia had detained a number of suspects but had to release them because of lack of evidence.