By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A harbour employee was found murdered in his apartment in Freeport on Tuesday morning after he did not show up to work.

The victim, Dwayne Jackson, a courier employed at the Freeport Harbour, was found stabbed to death shortly before 11am inside his unit at the Maxim Court Apartments, off Ponce de Leon Drive.

The Tribune understands that a female co-worker, who had gone to check on Jackson after he did not report to work, saw blood seeping from underneath the apartment’s door and alerted the police.

This latest incident pushes Grand Bahama’s murder count to 16 and is the 94th homicide for the country this year, according to The Tribune’s records.

When The Tribune arrived at the scene, the entrance of the apartment complex was cordoned off by police and a team of officers could be seen at an upstairs unit on the eastern side of the two-story building.

A hearse was also parked outside and a number of onlookers, including relatives and co-workers of the deceased, were standing in the area, some just outside the entrance gate to the apartment.

Superintendent of Police Mactavus Daniels, officer-in-charge of special projects in the Grand Bahama district, told reporters that police received a call around 10.50am that a body was found at an apartment in Maxim Court.

He said police responded and discovered the body of a black male, dressed in short pants, lying on the floor in front of a bed with injuries about the body. When asked the victim’s age or how long he may have been dead, Supt Daniels said police did not have that information at the time.

A pathologist was taken to the scene by police shortly before 1pm and pronounced the man dead at the scene.

“We are now in the initial stages of our investigation,” said Supt Daniels. “The person is dead, and the doctor has confirmed that (for us) and we are trying to find out exactly what took place here.”

Supt Daniels also reported that the victim’s vehicle – a white Honda Accord sedan, licence plate number 44040 - is missing.

“It is a vehicle of interest to us and so we are asking persons to assist us in locating that vehicle so we can bring some resolution to this matter,” he said.

As Supt Daniels spoke to reporters, loud cries were heard in the distance from the victim’s sister. She was emotional and had to be held up and restrained by other relatives at the scene.

Supt Daniels said police are presently questioning some persons.

“I am unable to say at this stage exactly where that is going to lead us, but we have persons in our custody who we are talking to with respect to this matter,” he said.

Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call police at 919, the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991 or the Crime Stoppers hotline anonymously at 328-TIPS.