The daughter of 90-year-old Guyanese artist Jorge Bowenforbes who was found dead on the floor inside his home earlier this month believes he was murdered.
Jewel Forbes said she was later informed that her father appeared to have suffered blows to the back of his head, with two spots showing injuries. Jewel said she regularly contacted her father because he lived alone and was getting older. Bowenforbes resided at Lot 472, Schoonord, West Demerara,
She said the last time she spoke with him was on August 24, after which she continued trying to reach him through WhatsApp and local telephone calls, but received no response.
Jewel said she then asked a cousin to have her brother, who lived across the river, check on her father.
According to Jewel, the man who went to the property found the padlock on the gate locked from the outside.
She said she was not immediately alarmed because she knew her father sometimes went out, and she had always told him to call once he returned home.
However, after continuing to receive no response, Jewel said she contacted a family friend the following week and asked him to check on Bowenforbes.
The man went to the property in September and, according to Jewel, found the gate and storm door locked.
He also noticed a smell coming from the house, which Jewel said prompted him to contact police.
Police subsequently went to the property and entered through a side door at the back.
That was when Bowenforbes was found lying dead on the floor.
Jewel said she believes her father may have been murdered.
She said she was told that there appeared to be injuries to the back of his head and believes someone could have entered the property, possibly while her father was outside, robbed him and killed him.
Jewel also confirmed that the house was ransacked.
She said she was initially told there were no obvious indications of foul play because the house did not appear to have been forcibly entered.
“I think my dad was murdered,” Jewel said.
Jewel said she had travelled to Guyana with the intention of having her father cremated, but the funeral home subsequently told her that the cremation could not proceed because the death was still under investigation.
She also expressed concern that the death had not been publicly reported.
Jewel said she was particularly taken aback by this because of her father’s status as a prominent artist in Guyana.
Police have not yet publicly released information regarding Bowenforbes’ death or the investigation.
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