The Tribune

By SYANN THOMPSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

sthompson@tribunemedia.net

THE father of one of two Bahamian men who died under mysterious circumstances while on a trip to Italy said relatives still have unanswered questions, claiming the credit card of one victim was still in use after his death.

Randolph John, father of Blair John, told The Tribune he still wants justice for his son and Alrae Ramsey. He has long maintained his disbelief that his son and Mr Ramsey, a foreign service officer, did not just drown in Italy, but that they were murdered.

He said the family heard someone had been questioned over the credit card use, but then nothing else materialised.

The bodies of Mr Ramsey, 29, and Mr John, 28, were found in the Po River in Turin, Italy on June 4 and 5 respectively. Italian officials cited accidental drowning as the cause of death. Mr John says he refuses to believe that his 6’4” son, a strong swimmer, and Mr Ramsey, who both attended St Augustine’s College, died due to an accidental drowning.

“The information put out in the public against my son and Alrae, saying they probably fell into the river and you know some of the foolishness; and other nonsense saying Alrae went to take a leak in the river because when they retrieved the body his zip was down, so he probably fell in the river and Blair went in to rescue him and drowned. I mean it’s so asinine. We want justice for our sons, I don’t believe that it was an accident,” he said.

He claimed Mr Ramsey’s credit card was still being used after his death, suggesting there are other avenues for officials to investigate.

“Alrae’s credit card was still being used after they were found dead, and this was happening before the bodies were shipped back,” he said. “We got word that the Italian authorities took into custody someone who was using his card and we heard nothing about what came out of that. So, there’s still a lot of unanswered questions.”

The Bahamas government has launched an independent investigation into the matter by engaging a law firm in Italy.

But the construction engineer says that concerned family members have not gotten any more information on the investigation. “The government promised that it is being done, and yes, it is being done so at the end of the day, you cannot say that they (the government) did not do it. We would like updates, we would like to actually have some say in the process. Since this began, we want to know what the progress is, what has happened,” Mr John said.

He added that he relatives have yet to see the toxicology report for the two men. He also wants to have a detailed death certificate. “Almost six months or so later we still do not have the toxicology report, we have not gotten a copy. The death certificate was sent in Italian, they (Italian officials) didn’t even have the decency to send it in English,” said Mr John.

Attorney General Carl Bethel told the media that Bahamian officials have communication with Italian authorities and made a formal international request for assistance in obtaining the reports and their findings on the mysterious deaths. “We are intent that the government will leave no stone unturned in finding out the truth of what happened to our young men,” Mr Bethel said.

“Further, we are advised that in order for the Bahamas to obtain not just the reports, but also the background and documentation which would in a sense support or otherwise the findings in the report,” he also said. 

Mr John was a Saint Mary’s University graduate student and was in Italy attending a psychology conference. His friend Mr Ramsey was a diplomat on study leave in Vienna.