THE search for Apex Academy student, 14-year-old Dhaniram Ramgopaul ended yesterday morning when caretakers of a creek along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway found his apparently fresh body floating in the same creek where he was swimming with family members on Sunday before he exited the water to use the bathroom.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle via telephone yesterday afternoon, the dead teen’s mother said she and other relatives had left home to go in search of the lad at approximately 04.30hrs and were in the company of the police at the Station when she received a call from the caretakers of a creek, that the body of the young man had been recovered.

According to Jankie Seecharan, when they arrived at the location, the young man’s body was seen in the direction opposite to where the water was flowing, which suggested that he might have been dumped.
She said her son’s body appeared to be fresh as there was blood coming from his mouth. Ms. Seecharan said the face of her son appeared ‘black and blue’ and he had other marks about the body.
The woman went on to state that there were also signs which suggested that her son might have been strangled.
This publication was informed that the 14-year-old was lured into a minibus with two friends he knew from the East Coast of Demerara who are in the business of selling music discs on push carts. She said that a 15-year-old boy who is among the persons in custody for the disappearance of her son, reportedly told investigators that they took the boy to a house where he was drugged and they all slept on a bed together.

Asked if the young man had reported that any sexual activity went on among them, the woman responded in the negative stating that nothing of the sort was reported to her. She said that she is convinced with the story that the young man reportedly told investigators as was reported to her, since the attire that the young man was wearing at the time was the exact attire family members saw him with when he reportedly left their company for the washroom.

Early yesterday morning after the body of the teen was recovered, family members indicated that he appeared to have been murdered and that his throat was slit. However, police sources said that while they do understand the pain of the grieving relatives at the time, it was premature for there to be a conclusion as to how the young man died before a post-mortem is conducted.
One police source told this newspaper that the marks which were found on the man appeared to be fish bites and not marks of violence as the relatives were suggesting.
Ramgopaul along with other family members took a trip to a creek for the holiday on Sunday and was later reported as missing after he left to use the washroom and failed to return after a 15-minute wait by relatives.
The dead teen leaves to mourn other siblings, his parents and friends. The investigations into his death is continuing and it is not clear if the police will seek advice from the chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions to charge his friends and an adult with his death following the results of a post-mortem scheduled to be performed today.

(By Leroy Smith)