La Penitence man found dead in home

Aug 27, 2010 News

An inconsolable Deon Abrams, as she sees the body being removed from the house.

The body being removed from the house.

– was not seen for several days

The decomposing body of 55-year-old Michael Whaul, of Lot 13D Tucville Terrace, North East La Penitence was discovered early yesterday morning by neighbours.
At the scene residents converged, awaiting the arrival of the police and undertakers to gain access to the house, since the man lived alone.
According to a young man in the neighbourhood, Travis Roberts, there was a pungent odour that was circulating in the air for days and persons began to suspect that Whaul may have died in his house.
“ He (Whaul) son come de Monday and ask fuh he, and we seh no, we ain’t seeing he…is dis morning (yesterday) that de neighbour come out and seh he couldn’t sleep whole night, how de place stink, and he (the neighbour) ask fuh somebody to go up and check in de house. When I climb up to de window I see he pun the ground pun he back, he swell up big.”
Deon Abrams who once shared a relationship with Whaul, and who bore him two chidren, said that last Sunday she visited Whaul’s house and called out for him, but this proved to be futile.
“Padlock was not on the door, and I know he was home….I call he cell phone and didn’t get through either…neighbours thought he had moved out and was living by me, because they didn’t seeing he.”
Abrams added that Whaul was sickly, since he was a diabetic who also suffered from hypertension.
“He last stay by me on the seventh of July and he go away….after I didn’t see he I call he family, they say he must have feel better, because they ain’t hear nothing from he.”
Neighbours recounted that initally they had thought that someone had thrown a dead animal somewhere close by, since the stench was always in the air, and growing worse daily.
“The man must have been in there for more than five days….is almost two weeks we ain’t see he though.”
A friend of Whaul disclosed that he was given a key to open his friend’s gate to make checks in the yard whenever Whaul was not around, however, “sometime I would go in and full up water in the tank…but I can’t believe that man dead in there all that time and we ain’t know.”
Several neighbours described Whaul as an isolated individual who was anti-social. They also disclosed Whaul’s death was preceded by two others this year at the residence.
“Can you believe that three people already died in that house and the year ain’t done, he sister and niece died recently in that same house, and now he dead!” one resident exclaimed.