By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A MAN who was fatally electrocuted on Christmas Eve while trying to retrieve fruit from a tree on Wilton Street was a Haitian father of seven who had been worried about money ahead of Christmas.

Simon Magislin, 53, had lived in The Bahamas for three to four years but died after coming into contact with an overhead electrical line, according to police. Officers responded to reports of an unresponsive man and found that a pole he was using had struck a power line, resulting in the fatal electrocution.

Magislin worked as a handyman and had recently begun receiving steady work, but relatives said he remained concerned about finances as Christmas approached. His seven children live in Haiti.

Neighbour Reynold Simon said Magislin had gone to pick breadfruit when the incident occurred. He recalled that Magislin was wearing short pants and believed the iron pole may have slipped, causing him to lose control.

“The door was open. That little shack you see in the front there — I was sitting inside. When that thing knock down. When I walk in, I see him on the ground lay up,” Mr Simon said.

He described the deceased as “nice” and said the two often spoke.

Another neighbour, Odilet Lepin, said his nephew called him to say a man had died but did not know what had happened. When he arrived at the scene, he realised it was his cousin and that Magislin was already dead.

Mr Lepin said the last time they spoke, about two and a half weeks earlier, Magislin was focused on the financial strain he was under as the holidays approached.

“Everything was great. He wasn’t sick. He just was crying about how Christmas coming on the way and he had no money,” Mr Lepin said.

“That’s only thing we was talking about, that things really rough, so that’s only thing he was talking about.”

Mr Lepin said work had not been coming in steadily at the time.

Nearby, Magislin’s brother stood silently, too emotional to speak, as relatives spoke about the loss.

An autopsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death.