The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

POLICE have reclassified the death of a man found in a burned building last week as a homicide, shifting the case from a general death investigation to a criminal probe.

The victim, a Haitian grocery store worker, was discovered in the charred remains of a building on Wilson Road, off Wulff Road.

Commissioner of Police Shanta Knowles told reporters yesterday that while police now consider the case a homicide, it has not yet been classified as a murder. Authorities are awaiting the pathologist’s report to determine the exact cause of death.

Police also updated their classifications for two other recent deaths.

On February 12, officers responded to reports of an unresponsive man with injuries on Deveaux Street, off East Street. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died. Initially treated as a suspicious death, an autopsy determined his injuries were not fatal. Instead, he died due to irregular heartbeat rates, leading police to reclassify the case as a sudden death.

Similarly, on February 8, a 65-year-old man was found lifeless with injuries at a home on Willet Street. The case was initially considered suspicious, but an autopsy revealed he had a pre-existing medical condition and died due to constricted breathing. As a result, police have also classified this case as a sudden death.