Police suspect foul play in Hutchinson’s death

Businessman Grafton Hutchinson’s death is being treated as a murder.

This is the position of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Royal St.Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force.{{more}}

The 72-year-old businessman of Mt. Pleasant was found dead at his place of business, Club CasaBlanca, on Monday, June 20.

The police believe that Hutchinson, who suffered an injury to his head, was murdered between 10 p.m. on Sunday, June 19, and 6:30 a.m. on Monday, June 20.

A portmortem examination revealed the cause of death as blunt trauma to the head.

Tyrone ‘Steggy’ Hutchinson, Grafton’s younger brother, who resides just a block away from Club CasaBlanca, said he was alerted by Grafton’s customers on Monday morning to check on him because it appeared that something suspicious had taken place.

The side door to Club CasaBlanca, where Grafton also resides, was ajar but damaged, and there was no response to the several calls made to him.

Tyrone said he contacted the police and was told to try and enter the building, which he did. On entering, he found his brother’s lifeless nude body facedown with a trickle of blood at the mouth.

Besides the damaged door at the side, Tyrone said the pool table was broken into, things were thrown about, and a window was left open on the ground floor of the two storey building.

Grafton, who had spent most of his life living with his wife and two daughters in England, returned to St.Vincent and the Grenadines almost three years ago to establish his business.

Just after he officially opened Club CasaBlanca a few months ago, he was robbed one night after he responded to a call to sell someone a bag of bread and a tin of corned beef.

Tyrone said as soon as Grafton opened the door, he was grabbed at the throat by two masked men. The assailants ran away after a minibus stopped near to the business.

Following that incident, other futile attempts had been made to break into the business.(HN)