By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

Pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A POLICE officer testified yesterday that one of two guns recovered from the scene of a fatal boating accident off Rose Island belonged to one of the deceased.

Meanwhile, as a coroner’s inquest into the June 2024 tragedy continued, a pathologist told the court that both victims died from complications of drowning caused by head injuries.

Inspector Nikira Robinson gave evidence before Coroner Kara Turnquest-Deveaux on the deaths of Adriel Rolle, 56, and Sean Laing, 51, who were killed on June 7, 2024, when their vessel struck a reef.

According to police reports, the 32-foot Concept boat had departed a marina bound for South Andros when it hit a reef near Rose Island, ejecting all three people on board. Officers were alerted to the crash around 9.30am.

The victims were later found by a passing vessel. The lone survivor, Julian Butler, a retired police reservist, was treated for head injuries. The boat reportedly sank while being towed back to New Providence.

Inspector Robinson said that the day after the crash, she logged two pistols, cash, and other personal belongings of the victims into police custody.

She said the weapons included a black 9mm Glock with ten rounds and a black Smith & Wesson 9mm with six rounds. Both firearms were privately licensed, one belonging to Butler and the other to Laing.

Inspector Robinson said she handed the weapons over to the Scenes of Crime Unit for further investigation.

Pathologist Dr Kiko Bridgewater testified that he conducted autopsies on both men on June 12, 2024, after they were identified by their sister and daughter, respectively. He concluded that both died from head injuries complicating drowning.

Dr Bridgewater said Rolle had a history of coronary artery disease and suffered a contusion to the top of his head, an eight-inch laceration on the right side of his scalp, and abrasions to his forehead, chest, shoulder, hands, wrists, thigh, and left foot. He also noted haemorrhaging in the neck and hyperinflated lungs, consistent with drowning, and said Rolle’s left thumb was nearly amputated.

He said Laing had a two-inch laceration to the back of his scalp from blunt force trauma, a fractured skull, brain haemorrhaging, and a contusion to the frontal lobe. His lungs were heavier than normal. Dr Bridgewater added that Laing had abrasions on his left cheek and shoulder, multiple broken ribs, a fractured sternum, and lung contusions.

Photographs of the deceased taken at the morgue showed bloodshot eyes, which Dr Bridgewater said were signs of drowning. He noted that the glazing of the eyes was due to the time elapsed between death and the photograph.

Dr Bridgewater told the court that both men were likely rendered unconscious before they drowned. He said it was possible they could have survived their injuries had they been out of the water, explaining that while the wounds were not fatal on their own, immersion made them deadly.

He confirmed that no debris was found on the victims’ bodies and that neither had leg injuries.

In response to a question from the coroner about Rolle’s health, Dr Bridgewater said it was possible Rolle suffered a heart event that contributed to the accident.

Angelo Whitfield served as the evidence marshal.