Royal Caribbean's version of events doesn't ring true, grieving family of Canadian says Esther Persaud's nightmare began when she went to Toronto's airport to welcome her son back from a Caribbean vacation and he didn't arrive. After nearly two days of dread, the worst fears of Ms. Persaud and her family were confirmed. A Toronto Police officer came to the door to tell her that her son O'Neil Persaud, 31, had died on board a cruise ship bound for St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. But O'Neil hadn't gone on a cruise. He was supposed to be staying at an all-inclusive resort on the island of St. Maarten. And that was only the beginning of the mystery. Two weeks later, the Persauds do not know how O'Neil died or even when his body will be returned so they can arrange a funeral. "We have already lost our son and now we are being tortured by the waiting," Ms. Persaud said yesterday. Worst of all, every day has brought new and conflicting reports about how O'Neil might have died. None of them are consistent with the happy and stable man the Persaud family and friends knew. The official statement from Royal Caribbean Cruises said Mr. Persaud began to "behave erratically and violently" on the evening of July 19, after the 3,100 passenger ship Adventure of the Seas sailed from Dutch St. Maarten. The cruise line considered Mr. Persaud a stowaway from Guyana. The report said that they handcuffed him to put him in a holding cell, he knocked out one of crew members and kicked another in the face. Locking himself in a bathroom, he pulled plumbing from the wall and smashed a mirror. He "withstood two cans of pepper spray with no effect," then "attempted to set a fire," then "placed a rope around his neck and attempted to hang himself," the cruise line's statement said. According to the cruise line, Mr. Persaud died while crew members were trying to hold him down so the ship's doctor could give him a sedative. "This makes him sound like the Incredible Hulk. O'Neil was not aggressive," Lionel Persaud, his father, said. Mr. Persaud believes "they are trying to hide this so it doesn't have an impact on tourism. We don't believe the story that they are giving the media." Family friend Elaine Richardson remembers O'Neil's enthusiasm as he planned the vacation and also doubts the cruise line's story. "They're saying this is an accidental death but, I'm sorry . . . It just does not add up. He was the kind of guy who would always have a laugh and a joke even when he was having a bad day," Ms. Richardson said. At 5 feet 7 inches tall, O'Neil was hardly an incredible hulk, although he had a penchant for adventure. A photo in the family's printing store shows him next to a Formula One racing car. A sponsor who does business with the Persauds' Lasting Impressions printing company let him test drive in a promotion for a race a year ago. The Persauds came to Toronto from Guyana in 1975, when O'Neil was 4. They started a screen printing business that became a family concern, with O'Neil becoming the graphic designer and his brother Nigel the accountant. "We depended on him," Mr. Persaud said in the office of the small shop in an industrial strip in Scarborough, where the smell of printing ink mingled this week with the fragrance of memorial flower bouquets sent by many family friends. It was not unusual for O'Neil, who was single and lived alone, to travel by himelf, Ms. Persaud said. "He just takes off," she said. He had toured Europe and been to other Caribbean islands. He had also lived for a year in Korea teaching English and trying to learn Korean. Ms. Richardson said O'Neil told her he was happy to get a chance to relax before the typically hectic fall business season. He signed up for the week at the all-inclusive Great Bay Resort because it was offering a room upgrade and no single supplement because summer is the off-season in St. Maarten. A spokesman for the resort said Mr. Persaud had arrived on July 14 and had last been in his room on the afternoon of Friday the 19th. His clothes were still on hangers, a pair of sneakers was in the closet and his duffel bag was still in the room. At that point certainty ends. A report in the local newspaper St. Thomas Source a said the cruise line has video surveillance tapes of Mr. Persaud boarding the Adventure of the Seas with an unidentified couple on Friday afternoon. "As a rule passengers can't bring guests on board," said Michael Sheehin, spokesman for Royal Caribbean in Miami. He said newspaper reports about the case have been inaccurate. Royal Caribbean has heightened security since Sept. 11 and issues all passengers photo identification cards they must swipe through a reader before they can board the ship, Mr. Sheehin said. The ship sailed for St. Thomas at 6 p.m. During the night, crew members found O'Neil; he was handcuffed and taken to a holding cell. Although local newspapers in St. Thomas reported crew members held Mr. Persaud down while a ship's doctor injected a tranquillizer into his buttock to calm him, the cruise line disputed the reports. St. Thomas deputy police chief Theodore Carty said the police have closed their investigation. The results of an autopsy said the death was accidental, but there was no official statement on the cause of death. The police case has been turned over to the island's attorney-general's office to determine whether charges should be laid. Police spokeswoman Sergeant Annette Raimer said yesterday that police had investigated the theory Mr. Persaud had died from a reaction to the tranquillizer and a narcotic he had taken earlier. Sgt. Raimer said there would be no further statement. The Virgin Islands administration notified the Canadian government yesterday that it is opening a criminal investigation in the case, Foreign Affairs spokesman Reynaud Doiron said in Ottawa. He said the autopsy done in St. Thomas found that the cause of death was "asphyxiation caused by compression of the chest." Any prosecution, if a suspect is identified, would be the responsibility of the island's officials, Mr. Doiron said. Virgin Islands medical examiner William Fogarty went on vacation immediately after the autopsy on Tuesday and was not available yesterday to answer questions. Dr. Fogarty was quoted in the Virgin Islands Daily News as saying he was puzzled because neither of the two ship's doctors recorded in their reports on the incident what dosage of tranquillizer was given. "It's good medical practice to document your actions. It's sort of standard medical practice." Dr. Fogarty added it was possible the man died of asphyxiation while being held down by crew members. It was also possible that he had a previous medical condition such as abnormal heart beat that could have caused a heart attack. While toxicology tests were taken during the autopsy, they had to be sent to a laboratory in the United States and results were not available yesterday, said a spokesperson for the medical examiner's office. "We don't believe the story. We don't believe anything we have read," O'Neil's mother said yesterday. She fears a cover-up is under way. Ms. Persaud said she has sought legal advice. "I was told there is so much corruption on the island, it is doubtful we will ever get the truth." O'Neil had no medical conditions that she knows of and he was always healthy, Mrs. Persaud said. Her husband added: "At the resort the booze is free. I have no doubt he drank there. But he was not on any medication and did not use drugs," his father said. Ms. Persaud said she has asked the coroner's office in Toronto to do a second autopsy once the body is returned. Incomplete paperwork has kept O'Neil's body in the Virgin Islands, but Mr. Persaud hopes it will finally be flown to Toronto over the weekend. O'Neil's sister, Michelle, said she considers this a criminal case. "I definitely want to know what happened. I want the people responsible to come to justice." O'Neil's mother said the trauma of waiting has been compounded by the shifting stories the family has been receiving from officials and the gaps in the official statements. She added: "Every day I feel more proud to be a Canadian, because of the ways that things are handled -- in a humane and legal way." http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20020803 /UDEAD3E/national/national/nationalTheNationHeadline_temp/2/2/16/ THE END ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?bUrHhl.bVKZIr Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
