The sudden death of their loved-one was simply too much to bear for the relatives, resulting in the victim’s mother, Violet Mitchell having to be rushed to hospital, giving way to the agony of her grief and realization that her son had died.

MiyVue.com spoke exclusively with one of the victim’s sisters, Antoinette, who indicated that she last saw her brother the day before his untimely passing. She said she does not believe her brother committed suicide.

“He sleeps at home every night but last night he did not sleep home…I last saw him yesterday morning (15^th Feb) before I went to work. Last night when I arrived home, he was not at home. He did not have any personal problems which would cause him to do this to himself. He had a little construction job but since the building was completed, he hasn’t had a job…I feel bad about the situation because…it is confusion. I don’t think my brother killed himself.”

Meanwhile, Public Relations Officer to the police, Inspector Vaughan Henderson, in speaking to MiyVue.com, indicated that the police received reports of the incident at about 7:50 a.m. and “responded immediately”.

Police said that it was an anonymous caller who made the early morning report.

“When the police arrived on the scene, they discovered the body of Andy Mitchell, a young man in his mid-20s hanging from a tree. The District Medical Office (DMO) was summoned to the area and he pronounced Mitchell dead…”

The lead police response was from officers assigned to the St. Pauls Police Station and the District “B” Crime Response Unit (CRU).

The Coroner was also informed and permission was given to have the body removed to a mortuary under police escort. Officers from the Crime Scene Department also visited the scene and did the necessary processing.

The investigators have indicated that they are treating the death as a suspected suicide but are cautious as in all matters of this nature, in ensuring that all the necessary steps are taken to ensure a professional and through investigation. As a result an autopsy will be performed at a later date to determine the cause of death.

Due to the difficult terrain in which the body was located, police however, were not able to remove the remains until around 11:00am, with the assistance of residents in the area.

It was about 10:00 a.m. when MiyVue.com arrived on the scene and Mitchell’s body was yet suspended from a tree overhanging the sea at Bartom Bay. The body was found hanging at a cliff side, on the shores of the bay, just west of the community cemetery, next to the Anglican and Methodist Churches in the Dieppe Bay district.  

This media house observed a number of individuals gathered in the vicinity of the incident, with police officers endeavouring to devise a plan for removal of Mitchell’s remains.

After several attempts, one resident proceeded to assist the police with the removal process. He climbed the tree from which Mitchell’s body was suspended, threw a rope around Mitchell’s body, under the arms, then unfastened the other rope from which Mitchell was suspended by the neck and proceeded to lower him to the ground.

As the lifelessly body was being carried from the cliff side, relatives and friends were looking on in sorrow, some not believing that the young man had met his unfortunate demise. Several family members, including his sister Antoinette, broke into tears and sought to comfort each other in their time of bereavement.

Mitchell leaves to mourn his mother Violet and three siblings – two sisters and one brother – and his one-year-old son, Junior.