By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS 

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has been urged to launch an immediate and comprehensive investigation into the death of 23-year-old Guyanese-American Dinari McAlmont, who was found dead near the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort earlier this year.

His family accuse Atlantis security staff and the Royal Bahamas Police Force of colluding to potentially cover up a homicide.

The Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID), a New York-based advocacy organisation, called for a “proper, fair, full, comprehensive and rigorous investigation” into the young man’s death.

Mr McAlmont, a resident of Bowie, Maryland, had arrived in Nassau on April 4, 2025, with his parents for a short family vacation at Atlantis.

Less than 24 hours later, he was found dead on a beach some distance from where he was last seen.

Officials have concluded that he drowned - but his parents, Michelle and McAlmont Sr, dispute that finding and allege that he was murdered and that his death is being covered up.

A letter to Mr Davis, from CGID President Rickford Burke, was also copied to several high-ranking United States officials, including Democratic Leader in the US House of Representatives, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries; Maryland Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks; Congressman Jamie Raskin; Maryland Governor Wes Moore; US Ambassador to The Bahamas Herschel Walker, who has yet to take up his position; Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Michael Kozak; and FBI New York Assistant Director Christopher Raia.

Mr Burke said Mrs Bacchus-McAlmont, Dinari’s mother, had also written to Congressman Jeffries and himself, recounting a series of troubling inconsistencies and the family’s growing concern that Bahamian authorities have failed to conduct a transparent inquiry.

He wrote: “Mrs Bacchus-McAlmont and her family desperately need answers as the circumstances and evidence suggest her son was potentially robbed and murdered while at the Atlantis in The Bahamas. Apparently, Dinari got into an altercation with a person or persons at a bar on the hotel premises. Subsequently, surveillance footage captured the chief of security assaulting him outside a bathroom, causing him to escape from that area.”

Mr Burke said Mrs Bacchus-McAlmont informed him that despite months of appeals to the Minister of National Security and the Royal Bahamas Police Force, no comprehensive investigation has been undertaken.

“Material inconsistencies have convinced Dinari’s family and others in the US that Atlantis security staff and the Royal Bahamas Police Force are colluding to potentially cover up a homicide in this matter,” Mr Burke said.

He warned that the matter “can gravely impact the reputation of The Bahamas and its tourism industry,” adding that the perception among US citizens is that “Dinari’s and other Americans’ deaths are being covered up by Bahamian authorities.”

According to correspondence shared with CGID, Mrs Bacchus-McAlmont detailed the events leading up to her son’s death. The family checked into the Reef at Atlantis on April 4. That night, at 10.14pm, Dinari texted his mother to say he was going to get something to eat. It was the last message she received.

At about 2am on April 5, the family received a call from the Paradise Island Police, who informed them that Dinari had been involved in an “incident” at one of the resort’s restaurants. They were told he had allegedly spat at staff after being denied access to a restricted area. His mother described this allegation as “completely out of character.”

When the family went to the Royal Towers casino to locate him, Atlantis security allegedly told them that Dinari had run out of the building. Hours later,after being told they could not file a missing person report because 24 hours had not yet elapsed, the family were informed that a body had been found on a beach some distance away.

Police said the cause of death was drowning. However, Mrs Bacchus-McAlmont said her son’s wallet, which was returned to the family, was dry and missing cash, suggesting he was not found in the water. She said his body was covered in sand and bore bruises and marks that resembled defensive wounds.

“The Royal Bahamas Police Force claimed that he died on the beach, while the hospital stated that he died after he was brought to the emergency room,” Mr Burke noted in his letter to the Prime Minister. The grieving mother also claimed that when she was finally allowed to identify her son, she was only shown a photograph — for which she had to pay $100 — and not permitted to view his body directly.

Autopsy and toxicology reports from The Bahamas, received on September 17, 2025 listed drowning as the cause of death, noting immersion changes, frothy fluid in the airways, heavy congested lungs, and extensive abrasions on multiple parts of the body, including the face, hips, knees, hands, arms, and legs. The report also documented that Dinari’s clothing and footwear did not match what he had been wearing, and his recorded weight was inaccurate.

Toxicology results revealed ethanol, methanol, and an active marijuana compound, along with its inactive metabolite. The autopsy confirmed significant recent injuries and abrasions consistent with trauma, including on the hands, knees, and face, further intensifying the family’s suspicion that Dinari did not simply drown.

In his letter, Mr Burke told the Prime Minister that the inconsistencies and lack of transparency “have convinced Dinari’s family and others in the US that Atlantis security staff and the Royal Bahamas Police Force are colluding to potentially cover up a homicide.” He stressed that the case, if left unresolved, could damage The Bahamas’ international reputation and tourism industry.

CGID urged Mr Davis to order a full, independent investigation and to ensure that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions carefully examines

all evidence to determine whether Dinari’s death was accidental or a homicide. Mr Burke concluded that justice for Dinari and accountability for the family must be prioritized, warning that public perception in the US is that the Bahamian authorities have mishandled and possibly covered up the case.

In his appeal, Mr Burke said: “Consequently, in the interest of justice, I hereby appeal to you to urgently direct the Royal Bahamas Police Force and other appropriate security services to conduct a proper, fair, full, comprehensive and rigorous investigation into Dinari’s death so that all of the facts can be analysed veraciously by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of The Bahamas for an informed determination on whether Dinari’s death was an accident or a homicide.”

Mr Burke said the CGID has full confidence in the Prime Minister’s commitment to justice and urged swift action, warning that inaction could “irreparably damage The Bahamas’ international reputation as a safe tourist destination.”