THE quiet West Bank Demerara community of La Parfaite Harmonie was, on Friday last, mourning the loss of 11-year-old Marcelio Gladstone of Lot 11 Westminister, who ended his life by hanging. His aunt, Cheryl Brumell, told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday that the family’s pastor has since recognized the death as ‘unnatural’. She noted that after Marcelio had hanged himself by a piece of rope attached to the rafter in his bedroom, his body had somehow looked different.
Brumell said Marcelio’s sister had discovered him hanging when she went to inform him that dinner was ready. She said the lad seemingly had no problems at home, and was deemed ‘normal’, like any other boy his age. Moreover, he had shown no signs of being depressed.
Brumell said that when Marcelio’s mother returned from work, shortly after 5 pm on Friday, she had observed him lying in a chair, and had asked him to go wash his feet, since they were muddy, and he had complied with the request.
His mother had also told him to go to his bedroom until dinner was ready, but he had said he was not hungry, and that was the last time he had been seen alive.
Brumell noted that, after some time had elapsed, the mother had sent Marcelio’s sister to summon him for dinner, and the lass had run out of the bedroom, telling her mother that Marcelio had hanged himself.
The incredulous mother had gone to verify this information, whereupon her screams had alerted neighbours, who summoned the police to the scene, Brumell disclosed to this publication.
She observed that Marcelio’s untimely death has indeed shocked the family, since he had seemed to be happy living with his mother and two siblings after their father had left the home sometime ago.
She said that Marcelio’s 21-year-old brother, who had lived with his father in Georgetown, had ended his life by hanging in January this year, as well, because he had been having personal problems with a girl he was dating, and that had been coupled with domestic issues he had been experiencing.
Neighbours yesterday described Marcelio as being like any other boy in the village. They said he was often seen playing with the community children, and had even secured a place at a high school in the city, having sat the recent National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) examinations.
A post-mortem is expected to be performed on Marcelio’s body tomorrow.
The official police version of the incident is that, at about 19:30 hrs last Friday, Marcelio Gladstone was found hanging in his bedroom from a piece of rope tied to the roof. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH).