By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

JUST days before Acklins was set to come alive with music, laughter and reunion, the island is now cloaked in sorrow after the brutal murder of a resident.

51-year-old Shawn Ferguson was reported missing Monday after last being seen by relatives on Sunday night.

Hours after the report, police discovered his dismembered body buried on a beach in Mason’s Bay, Acklins.

Police have confirmed that two of Ferguson’s sons are in custody, assisting officers with their investigation.

The killing has sent shockwaves through the tight-knit community, casting a sombre mood over residents as they prepare for the island’s Cascarilla Heritage Festival — an annual event planned for this weekend that typically brings families together in joy and pride.

Marvin Campbell, the island’s chief councillor, said Ferguson had been looking forward to the weekend festivities and had played a key role in helping plan it.

“We don’t know how the event will be because like I say, the everybody is in not in good spirits and you know that joyous moment in preparation. Everybody just feels out of it. The whole island is not feeling it,” he told The Tribune yesterday.

He described Mr Ferguson, a tyre shop owner, as a humble, community-minded man who was loved by all.

“He loves dominoes. He loves backgammon so people always want to play dominoes with him. He was a fun person,” Mr Campbell told The Tribune yesterday.

According to relatives, Ferguson spent his final days preparing the family’s bed and breakfast motel for the weekend.

Norma Cox, the wife of Ferguson’s cousin, said the family is struggling to cope with the tragedy while managing guests at the fully booked motel.

She added that they believe the person responsible for his death is someone close to him.

“Everybody’s distraught,” she said, “Nobody slept last night. We were there all day trying to calm, calm her down - the mother - because she’s devastated at this time.”

She also criticised social media speculation about what may have led to the incident, insisting that no one truly knows. She emphasised that Ferguson loved his family and children.

“He was genuinely a good person,” she added. “Very friendly, very bubbly, always talking, always laughing, always in a jubilant mood. Anything you wanted him to do, he would do it.”

His death marks the island’s first murder of the year and the country’s 34th, according to The Tribune’s records.