Death of Chronicle employee… Body left outside refrigerator

Mar 31, 2009 News

– died by drowning, trauma to head

A post mortem examination performed on the body of Guyana Chronicle Production Superintendent, Raymond Lynch, has revealed that he died from drowning and blunt trauma to the head.
Government Pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh performed the post mortem examination yesterday at the Georgetown Hospital Mortuary.
The 54-year-old died last Saturday after he was pinned in his car, which crashed into a ditch alongside the Main East Coast Demerara Highway, in the vicinity of Happy Acres.
Lynch, of 11 Area ‘CC’, Ogle, who was eventually pulled from the vehicle by ranks of the Guyana Police Force and some public-spirited persons, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Lynch, a long standing staff member of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited, and who was described as a loyal employee, was returning home after taking a friend to his home at Golden Grove, some 11 miles away.
The post mortem findings confirm that Lynch suffocated after his car toppled and landed in a watery ditch.
The reports suggest that Lynch was strapped by his seat belt and could not free himself after suffering a concussion.
At least one motorist said that he had passed the car lying on its side off the road but did not think that anyone was inside.
When the police arrived they observed that the car was turned on its side and was partly submerged in the shallow water and mud.
A closer examination gave them a shock as they observed that the driver was pinned inside.
They arranged assistance to pull the car out, but by that time the occupant appeared dead.
Meanwhile, family members are peeved at the way Lynch’s body was stored at the Georgetown Hospital Mortuary.
According to a relative, when they went to the mortuary to facilitate the post mortem yesterday, Lynch’s body was swollen. This was an indication that it was left exposed for the entire weekend instead of being placed in the refrigerator.
“The body was not cleaned and it appeared as if it had started to decompose,” the relative told this newspaper.
Lynch’s remains are now at the Merriman’s Funeral Home awaiting burial next Monday.