NASSAU, The Bahamas – His Excellency Ellison E. Greenslade, QPM, High Commissioner of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, said he is satisfied with the level of investigation into the deaths of the two Bahamian young men whose bodies were found in the River Po in the city of Turin, Italy, on June 4 and 5, 2019.
High Commissioner Greenslade, a former Commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, was dispatched to Italy on Saturday, June 8, 2019, to make further inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Foreign Service Officer Alrae Ramsey, 29, and Blair Rashad Randy John, 28, a Ph.D. student in Psychology.
High Commissioner Greenslade is accompanied by Wilfred Adderley II, Deputy to the High Commissioner in London, and Michelangela Vismara, Bahamas Honorary Consul to Italy.
High Commissioner Greenslade noted that they have been shown the greatest measure of courtesy and respect by the Italian Government and all officials in Italy.
The uncles of Mr. Ramsey, Colin and Christopher Wright, traveled to Italy and were able to view the body of their nephew and make a positive identification. Brittany John, the sister of Mr. John, viewed and positively identified his body, the High Commissioner confirmed.
“Let me at the onset join my Minister and the entire (staff) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in conveying condolences to the parents, relatives and friends of the late Alrae Ramsey and Blair John,” High Commissioner said on Monday, June 10. “I am satisfied, here on the ground, that the investigation into the deaths of these two promising young Bahamian men is receiving the fullest attention of the Italian Government and law enforcement officials.”
He stated that the external autopsies on both bodies commenced Monday morning and have been completed. Detailed autopsies to include toxicology reports would follow at a later time.
“I am extremely pleased, as of this report, to tell The Bahamas that extremely good progresss has been made in this case,” High Commissioner Greenslade said. “I believe that as the days progress we are going to be able to come back to the public and certainly say much more.”
High Commissioner Greenslade also called on Bahamians to support the victims’ families at this difficult time.
The bodies of both men were pulled out of the waters on Tuesday, June 4, and Wednesday, June 5, by Italian authorities.
Mr. Ramsey was employed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since December 9, 2013. Formerly, he was posted at The Bahamas Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as Third Secretary/Vice-Consul in 2016 – 2017. In 2018 he was granted an In-Service Award to pursue a one-year Postgraduate Diploma programme in Diplomacy/International Relations and Languages at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Austria, for the period September 2018 – June 2019.
Mr. John, a St. Augustine’s College graduate of the Class of 2009, was near completion of his Ph.D. in Psychology at Saint Mary’s University in Nova Scotia, Canada. He traveled to Turin to make a psychology conference presentation on behalf of the university.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will keep the public updated as details of the investigation continue to unfold. And, has asked the public to join in praying for the families in the wake of such tragedy.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Nassau, The Bahamas
June 10, 2019
