Man found dead days after surprising relatives

Less than a week after he shocked his sister and mother by visiting them and giving them cash, 24-year-old Muyembe Blake was found dead at an abandoned lot in Piarco.

Speaking with Newsday at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on Thursday, Blake's mother Jennifer King said her son had "run-ins" with the law and she even had cause to kick him out of her house, but felt he was trying to turn his life around in the months before his death.

"He was a nice person, that's what all parents say when their children get in trouble. But he had some run-ins with the law in the past.

"He started to turn around his life and I don't know what would have led to this.

"He and I had some run-ins a while ago, so you know how young boys are when they don't want to listen, so I put him out. He got a little piece of squatting land in St Helena and he was living on his own. He would pass by for food, he would come for water, because he didn't have running water where he was.

"The last time we saw him was Sunday. He came and gave his sister money. She was happy because he never had any money and she kept showing me the $100 he gave her, not knowing that was the last we would have seen him."

King said her son began working as a security guard in the months before his death and was making an effort to change his life.

Asked about reports that his death was linked to the murder of his neighbour and friend Khemraj Singh on Monday, King said she had heard the rumours but could not confirm whether or not they were true.

"I heard he went to a covid party and he was ambushed, all kinds of things. But I will wait for the investigation to say for certain what happened and hopefully the culprits will be brought to justice and held accountable for this, because this is really senseless.

"To be honest, no mother or any parent should have to bury their child. So it's a difficult time, especially with the covid19 and we can't have too much people at the funeral. It makes it difficult because in times like these you need the support of loved ones around you for encouragement. So this adds to the strain of the situation."

The autopsy report was inconclusive on Blake's cause of death owing to the advanced state of decomposition. A toxicology report is expected to be done to determine whether he was poisoned or under the influence of alcohol at the time of his death.

King said despite her past difficulties with him, she was still in grief after hearing about his death on Wednesday.