A POST- mortem scheduled to be performed on the body of William Vanbrook, found dead in his home at Madewini, East Bank Demerara, has had to be abandoned, due to the advanced stage of decomposition of his body.This is the advice of Government Bacteriologist and Pathologist, Dr. Neehaul Singh, according to Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS), Alfred King, in an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle.

Vanbrook 61, also called “Billy,” who had been caretaker of the Madewini Camp Site, owned by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport for the last 12 years, died, presumably on Easter Monday, according to the doctor who examined the body. At the time he was alone in his home at Madewini. Last Friday, staff of the ministry who had become curious after not being able to reach him on the telephone over a prolonged period, visited his home and discovered his body, stiff and locked in the house.
It would appear he had just completed a phone call, since his remains were discovered in a chair with two phones – a cellular and a landline phone in front of him. Rigor mortis had already stepped in.
Relatives living in Lamaha Park also related that they had received a phone call from him on Easter Monday, during which he complained of experiencing pains in the region of his chest and abdomen. The pains, he said, had started around Good Friday. But no one could have imagined that death was anywhere in the making.
According to Permanent Secretary of the MCYS, Mr. Alfred King, Mr. Vanbrook was in the process of preparing the Madewini Camp site for a training programme to be hosted there by the President’s Youth Award Programme. He recalled that the manager had spoken with Vanbrook on Monday, detailing instructions in relation to preparations for the event this week. But after receiving no feedback from the caretaker, the manager tried calling him again, but all calls went unanswered.
As a result an advance party (ahead of the training programme) travelled up to Madewini to seek him out. When they got to the building and found that it was locked, an officer peered in through a window and made the shocking discovery that Vanbrook’s body was motionless in a chair. The heavily grilled building was locked from the inside. The information was immediately communicated to the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, who immediately made a personal call to the Commissioner of Police, requesting him to dispatch ranks to witness the horrific discovery and commence investigations.
On receiving the horrifying information, police visited the home at Madewini and wasted no time in prising the door of the locked and heavily grilled building open. The building was searched thoroughly, but the police came up with nothing to suggest foul play. They further verified that the body bore no visible marks of violence.
Meanwhile, the examining doctor determined that the body would have been lifeless for about three days or so, prior to being discovered.
Of affable disposition, Vanbrook was a quiet and peace- loving individual who harboured no malice nor ill will for anyone. He was focused and very attentive to his job, hence, after not hearing from him for several days, in relation to the progress of tasks assigned to him, officials at the MCYS became worried and set out to find him.
During his lifetime, Vanbrook had enjoyed warm and amicable relations with family members and neighbours. He would regularly visit the home of his eldest brother, Stephen, at Lamaha Park, spending many a Sunday and holiday with the family. But this time around, instead of his usual visit, the call they received from him on Easter Monday turned out to be a farewell telephone call.
Mr. William Vanbrook had been in the employ of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport for about 12 years, having commenced working there on May 1, 2003. Prior to that, he had worked as a Bio-Med Technician at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
He leaves to mourn his eldest brother Stephen Vanbrook (Retired Chief Constable (Ag) of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC), two sisters, cousin Patrice La Fleur of the UNFPA, nephew, Mahendra Vanbrook of the Ministry of Finance and other relatives and friends.
The police are however, continuing their investigation.