By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

BRENDAN Comarcho was just 12 when he lost his father, a blow his family says he never truly recovered from.

Seventeen years later, the 28-year-old was found dead in a shed on South Beach Drive, his body discovered after what police believe was a failed attempt to scale a barbed-wire fence. 

His death, labelled suspicious, is now the subject of a police investigation. As speculation swirls online, Comarcho’s family insists on remembering the man they knew, not the rumours.

“He struggled very hard,” they said of the pain he carried since childhood.

Comarcho was the eldest of three sons, known by relatives as a kind, generous, and deeply loved man.

“Talking about it now has me tearing up,” said one of his aunts. “Thinking about him, I can see his face right now in front of me, the last conversation we had.”

“He is a very, very, very nice person. You can get anything from Brendan, he was a lovable person,” she said. “He was a very well respected, kind-hearted and lovable person.”

Though he didn’t live in the area where he was found, police said Comarcho was known locally. 

His mother said he had recently expressed fears that someone was pursuing him.

In emotional social media posts, she pushed back against public speculation that he had been attempting a robbery.

“He was a lot of things, but he was not out to rob anyone,” she wrote. “I wish yall never have to go through seeing what I had to do today to identify. I keep seeing his face. The thought I couldn’t help my child.”

She said she messaged him in the early hours of Sunday morning, compelled by a sense of dread.

“The Holy Spirit told me something is wrong,” she wrote.

“I’m heartbroken because he died alone and had no one with him,” she added. “I had to identify him yesterday and hope none of yall judgers here have to do the same for their child. RIP Brendan.”

“Continue to split yall narratives.”

The family says he bled out, calling for help that never came.

As of press time, police have not released further details on the case.