North West: Man found dead under suspicious circumstances at relative’s home

Family members of 24-year-old Simon Griffith are seeking answers following his mysterious death at a relative’s house on Kairie Island, North West District, on August 2.

His father, Terrence Sandy, last saw him alive on the morning of August 1. A post-mortem on August 6 revealed that Simon died from asphyxiation, ligature strangulation and blunt trauma. Ligature strangulation occurs when a cord-like object is tightened around a person’s neck.

Simon was discovered at his cousin Azumi Abdool’s house; she claimed that he died at 6 a.m. on August 2. However, Azumi did not immediately inform his family.

“When he sister check their brother, like he was dead long before that; around 9 o clock the girl [Azumi] called,” Sandy explained.

According to the father, rigor mortis had already set in when his son was found.

Meanwhile, Simon’s sister, Sabrina Thomas, said she tried calling her brother’s phone from 06:00 hrs that day, but no one answered.

“The morning I keep ringing he phone and nobody was answering, it keep ringing ringing, until she picked up the phone, well I don’t know if it was her, because the person press the button but nobody nah speak and she cut off the phone,” Sabrina explained.

When Sabrina finally reached Azumi at around 9 a.m., Azumi told her that Simon was sleeping and “to come and collect my brother.”

Upon visiting the house, Sabrina found Simon unconscious next to a mattress in a dark room.

“When me gone and find and check he, the room was very dark and I thought he was sleeping, but his eye was kinda open and I called for him, and he didn’t answer and I watched his foot bottom and it was white and his face was very black,” Sabrina recalled.

She then inquired from Azumi if her brother was dead.

“She didn’t say nothing, she only watch her sister,” Sabrina said.

Azumi and her sister began arguing, with Sabrina questioning how Simon died but she said she then left the house to go inform other relatives.

Azumi lives with her mother, brother and sister. They were all home when Simon died.

Sabrina explained that Simon would normally visit the cousins.

Police initially arrested Azumi’s brother, Khemraj Abdool, in connection with the crime but he was later released.

“We want to know how we brother dead and we need justice for he,” Sabrina said.