Autopsy reveals nurse died from combination of heart failure, diabetes mellitus, and lung infection

A post-mortem examination has shed light on the causes of death for Wilton Longford Benn, a 63-year-old Public Health Nurse whose body was discovered in a New Amsterdam hotel.

Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh conducted the autopsy on Friday at Memorial Gardens Crematorium & Funeral Home in Georgetown, determining that Benn’s death was due to a combination of heart failure, diabetes mellitus, and an infection in the lungs.

The autopsy results came after Benn’s lifeless body was found on Thursday morning in room 238 of a hotel on Main Street, New Amsterdam. Police were alerted to the scene at approximately 9:02 a.m., following a report of an unresponsive individual. Emergency medical services arrived shortly after but pronounced Benn dead at the location.

Holly Trim, a 38-year-old Public Health Nurse and colleague of Benn, noted that Benn had been recuperating from Dengue fever. Trim and Benn were in Berbice for a supervisory visit to health facilities to review the management of a new HPV vaccine.

Trim recounted that a 41-year-old driver from the Ministry of Health arrived at the hotel around 8:45 a.m. to collect Benn and Trim. When Benn did not respond to knocks at his door, the driver forcibly entered the room and discovered Benn’s motionless body.

The findings from the autopsy have been crucial in clarifying the medical reasons behind Benn’s death, although authorities continue to investigate the broader circumstances surrounding the incident.