It is all but confirmed that the burnt body of a man found in the Yeptons area on Friday is that of soldier Ashon Martin of Bendals.
Forensic tests will still have to be carried out to formally confirm the identity, but members of the Antigua Barbuda Defence Force are already mourning the death of their colleague.
The man’s mother Agnes Pope said she is “hoping and praying that the body is not really that of him.”
She said reports on state media that her husband identified the body are false “what I said was that the Noah van is definitely that of my son and that I was told that my son’s father went to view the body and couldn’t identify because it was burnt so badly.”
Pope said she has been unable to eat or sleep over the possibility that her son could be dead.
The body was found in the front passenger seat of burnt Noah Van in the Yeptons area while police officers were on patrol about 1:45 a.m.
While preparations are being made to officially confirm the identity of the man, Antigua News Room understands that lawmen believe he is the 26-year-old soldier.
Sources familiar with the pace of the investigations have also revealed that the body had signs of broken limbs.
The ABDF is working closely with the police to not only identify the body but to solve the crime.
Sources say there is the possibility that the man was murdered at another location and then set ablaze in Yeptons.
Investigations are ongoing and lawmen want people with information to come forward by calling the Criminal Investigations Department at 462-3913 or 462-3914.
