37-year-old Jermaine Patnett lost his life between miles 6 and 7 on the Phillip Goldson highway last night en route to his home in Ladyville.
His family claims his death happened under mysterious circumstances, and, indeed, with his injuries leaving him unrecognizable Jermaine became a John Doe this morning.
But while his family later indemnified him, they still have grave doubts about what killed him. Cherisse Halsall reports.
This morning the news was that a John Doe had been knocked down and killed between miles 6 and 7 on the Phillip Goldson Highway, but when police published pictures of his tattoos that prompted a brother to come forward and confirm his identity.
He is Ladyville's Jermaine Christopher Pattnett, a construction worker and a 37-year-old father of four who occasionally walked home from jobs in Belize City. And this evening when Jermaine's brother-in-law spoke off-camera to Channel 7 he lamented not just the tragedy but the traumatic way in which it came to light.
Voice of: Jermaine Pattnette's, Brother-in-Law
"Well obviously it's not the optimal circumstance to find out that way. He was his mother's son obviously and, this is the fifth loss of a son to the family and of a family of 12 children and so it's definitely devastating. This one is under mysterious circumstances the family believes that they have previously lost others to illness. So, this one is um, for the family, it is especially traumatic."
"You know other people saw him before the family. It's untimely, it's unfortunate. It was unexpected so the family as you saw, well my wife she can't come to terms with herself and the unfortunate incident. The mother is beside herself, you know, she can't come to terms with it has lost so many children."
"The circumstances surrounding his death for us are still shrouded in mystery."
Cherisse Halsall:
"The media believed that it was some type of hit and run, does the family believe anything different?"
Voice of: Jermaine Pattnette's, Brother-in-Law
"Definatley, we believe that if it was a hit and run we believe that there was some intention to it. We don't believe that it was accidental."
"This one he wasn't ill by all accounts. To just sort of find out that his life was lost due to this tragic unfortunate means and indeed the family found out via social media and then the family made contacts with each other to find out you know if anyone has seen it and the photographs were immediately identified as his body art. His tattoos and of course his brother went and saw and identified his body, rather."
But Jermaine's loss will be hardest felt by his children.
Voice of: Jermaine Pattnette's, Brother-in-Law
"As a father of four I believe like any other father, I myself as a father, you know, know what it feels like to want the best for your children you want to do right and be a better person, especially for your children but I'm sure he had his own goals and his own ambitions to do the right thing to be at least right by his children and see them raised like I said his oldest is just a teen. So, and his youngest is a bay I believe about 3 years old so you know for them I know it is unfathomable. I don't even know if they would know how to come to terms with his loss."
Patnett leaves behind four children, 2 girls and two boys ranging in age from a teenager to a 3-year-old.
