A third gruesome gay murder in six months has led to speculation that a killer with a grudge is on the loose in Nassau.
The horrific murder of Wellington Adderley, whose throat was slit during an attack inside his home, bears striking similarities to last November's brutal killings of designer Harl Taylor and academic Dr Thaddeus McDonald.
Mr Adderley's death, which happened within a few hundred yards of the other two murders, has prompted speculation that a vendetta is underway against high-profile homosexuals.
Mr Adderley, the wellknown AIDS activist who lived with HIV for more than 20 years, was found dead in a pool of blood in his Delancey Street home on Monday afternoon. The discovery was made just round the corner from Mountbatten House, where Taylor was stabbed to death, and only, a few hundred yards from the Queen Street home of Dr McDonald, who was bludgeoned to death with an iron.
Though police have not yet revealed the cause of Mr Adderley's death, sources indicate that his throat was slashed "almost to the' point of decapitation."
"He was gay," said a source who did not wish to be named yesterday, "and it, would not surprise me if these killings are related because of how close the three crime scenes are."
There were also similarities in that all three suffered exceptionally brutal deaths inside their own homes, and all are thought to have known their assailant.
In the Adderley case, it appears that the killer locked the door as he left, leaving his victim sprawled on the floor just inside the premises.
Asked if there was a link between the killings yesterday, the head of the homicide squad at the Central Detective Unit did not wish to speculate.
"No, we cannot say that, we cannot say that right now. We are early in the investigation phase and we cannot say at this time whether there is any linkage with the other two matters," said Asst Supt Leon Bethel.
He added, in response to another question, that Mr Adderley was not questioned by police in the Taylor and McDonald investigations.
Police have been under pressure to catch the killer of Taylor and McDonald, with speculation rife that someone is being protected by high-level homosexuals.
A few weeks ago, ASP Bethel discounted the possibility that a psychopath was responsible, and said Taylor and McDonald were likely to have known their killer or killers.
He expressed confidence at that time that the culprit would be caught, and appealed for public help in their inquiries.
He said police forensic evidence was good. All they needed was the crucial "breakthrough" to link the evidence with the killer.
The Adderley murder will undoubtedly lead to yet more pressure for police investigators, especially if a link between the three homicides is established.
Yesterday, a source told The Tribune that Mr Adderley's home was left intact after the killing. "No furniture was over turned or anything like that.
They left the house neat. It is believed that Mr Adderley knew the killer because they locked the door behind them.
"Mr Adderley was left lying on the floor with a cut across his throat and he was almost decapitated. There was no sign of a fight or any rumbling and tumbling about the place."
Describing Mr Adderley as a former teller at Citibank on Thompson Boulevard, the source said: "He was definitely gay. There is no doubt about that."
Police failure to track down the killer of Taylor and McDonald has been attributed to the secretive nature of the gay community in the Bahamas, and the fear among its members of being "outed" in a homophobic society.
This community consists of prominent and powerful people in politics, banking, the police force, the diplomatic corps, the legal fraternity and the church.
Anyone, assisting the police, and forced to go to court and testify about the killings, risks being outed and also outing their gay partners from one of these spheres, a source indicated.
Asked if police are having difficulty getting information from the gay community, ASP Bethel said: "Well, I know we did not say that he (Adderley) is a gay man." But he had seen published reports suggesting this. "Well, if he is a gay man, we certainly would want to talk to some of the persons he associated with to see if they could assist us with any information with respect to his activities before his death," he added.
Mr Adderley, administrator at the AIDS Foundation and president of The Network for Positive Living, was not seen by neighbours since Friday. After police were alerted, a locksmith was required to enter his apartment at around 2.45pm, when his body was discovered fully clothed in a pool of blood.
The locked door at the apartment, which is just opposite the old Buena Vista restaurant, and the vicious way Mr Adderley was killed, indicated that he, too, may have been the victim of a crime of passion, the suspected motive in the other two killings.
Erin Greene, spokesperson for the gay advocacy group the Rainbow Alliance, said it is too early to jump to conclusions on whether the murders are connected.
"The Rainbow Alliance of the Bahamas is very concerned that we have had the deaths of three prominent gay men within the last year and we are hoping to continue discussions with the police to foster a relationship that includes a level of community policing with the government," she said.
Ms Greene does not think police are ignoring the crimes, but she is concerned about the lack of communication between them and the community.
"We don't expect the police to solve the murders overnight, but we would appreciate and require for our general sense of safety an open line of communication. You know, let us know that you are still working on it, but these things take time," she said, acknowledging that authorities may be waiting on the results of DNA evidence to be processed in the McDonald/Taylor killings.
There is a perception in the community at large, said Ms Greene, that "those two murders will never be solved." After the Taylor/McDonald killings, sources indicated that a jealous lover close to both men may have played a role in their deaths.
Ms Greene said of the lack of closure on the cases: "The truth is - the problem is - that there is no way to tell whether the murders are not solved because of a conspiracy by the authorities just to ignore them, or whether the level of homophobia that exists in our community creates an environment where people are just unwilling to assist the police."
Bishop Simeon Hall, who pressed police for an update on the McDonald/Taylor killings in recent weeks, told The Tribune yesterday, that he will reserve comment on this latest murder until he receives more information.
Bishop Hall was threatened with death over his remarks weeks ago by an anonymous telephone caller.
By BRENT DEAN
The Tribune
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
The horrific murder of Wellington Adderley, whose throat was slit during an attack inside his home, bears striking similarities to last November's brutal killings of designer Harl Taylor and academic Dr Thaddeus McDonald.
Mr Adderley's death, which happened within a few hundred yards of the other two murders, has prompted speculation that a vendetta is underway against high-profile homosexuals.
Mr Adderley, the wellknown AIDS activist who lived with HIV for more than 20 years, was found dead in a pool of blood in his Delancey Street home on Monday afternoon. The discovery was made just round the corner from Mountbatten House, where Taylor was stabbed to death, and only, a few hundred yards from the Queen Street home of Dr McDonald, who was bludgeoned to death with an iron.
Though police have not yet revealed the cause of Mr Adderley's death, sources indicate that his throat was slashed "almost to the' point of decapitation."
"He was gay," said a source who did not wish to be named yesterday, "and it, would not surprise me if these killings are related because of how close the three crime scenes are."
There were also similarities in that all three suffered exceptionally brutal deaths inside their own homes, and all are thought to have known their assailant.
In the Adderley case, it appears that the killer locked the door as he left, leaving his victim sprawled on the floor just inside the premises.
Asked if there was a link between the killings yesterday, the head of the homicide squad at the Central Detective Unit did not wish to speculate.
"No, we cannot say that, we cannot say that right now. We are early in the investigation phase and we cannot say at this time whether there is any linkage with the other two matters," said Asst Supt Leon Bethel.
He added, in response to another question, that Mr Adderley was not questioned by police in the Taylor and McDonald investigations.
Police have been under pressure to catch the killer of Taylor and McDonald, with speculation rife that someone is being protected by high-level homosexuals.
A few weeks ago, ASP Bethel discounted the possibility that a psychopath was responsible, and said Taylor and McDonald were likely to have known their killer or killers.
He expressed confidence at that time that the culprit would be caught, and appealed for public help in their inquiries.
He said police forensic evidence was good. All they needed was the crucial "breakthrough" to link the evidence with the killer.
The Adderley murder will undoubtedly lead to yet more pressure for police investigators, especially if a link between the three homicides is established.
Yesterday, a source told The Tribune that Mr Adderley's home was left intact after the killing. "No furniture was over turned or anything like that.
They left the house neat. It is believed that Mr Adderley knew the killer because they locked the door behind them.
"Mr Adderley was left lying on the floor with a cut across his throat and he was almost decapitated. There was no sign of a fight or any rumbling and tumbling about the place."
Describing Mr Adderley as a former teller at Citibank on Thompson Boulevard, the source said: "He was definitely gay. There is no doubt about that."
Police failure to track down the killer of Taylor and McDonald has been attributed to the secretive nature of the gay community in the Bahamas, and the fear among its members of being "outed" in a homophobic society.
This community consists of prominent and powerful people in politics, banking, the police force, the diplomatic corps, the legal fraternity and the church.
Anyone, assisting the police, and forced to go to court and testify about the killings, risks being outed and also outing their gay partners from one of these spheres, a source indicated.
Asked if police are having difficulty getting information from the gay community, ASP Bethel said: "Well, I know we did not say that he (Adderley) is a gay man." But he had seen published reports suggesting this. "Well, if he is a gay man, we certainly would want to talk to some of the persons he associated with to see if they could assist us with any information with respect to his activities before his death," he added.
Mr Adderley, administrator at the AIDS Foundation and president of The Network for Positive Living, was not seen by neighbours since Friday. After police were alerted, a locksmith was required to enter his apartment at around 2.45pm, when his body was discovered fully clothed in a pool of blood.
The locked door at the apartment, which is just opposite the old Buena Vista restaurant, and the vicious way Mr Adderley was killed, indicated that he, too, may have been the victim of a crime of passion, the suspected motive in the other two killings.
Erin Greene, spokesperson for the gay advocacy group the Rainbow Alliance, said it is too early to jump to conclusions on whether the murders are connected.
"The Rainbow Alliance of the Bahamas is very concerned that we have had the deaths of three prominent gay men within the last year and we are hoping to continue discussions with the police to foster a relationship that includes a level of community policing with the government," she said.
Ms Greene does not think police are ignoring the crimes, but she is concerned about the lack of communication between them and the community.
"We don't expect the police to solve the murders overnight, but we would appreciate and require for our general sense of safety an open line of communication. You know, let us know that you are still working on it, but these things take time," she said, acknowledging that authorities may be waiting on the results of DNA evidence to be processed in the McDonald/Taylor killings.
There is a perception in the community at large, said Ms Greene, that "those two murders will never be solved." After the Taylor/McDonald killings, sources indicated that a jealous lover close to both men may have played a role in their deaths.
Ms Greene said of the lack of closure on the cases: "The truth is - the problem is - that there is no way to tell whether the murders are not solved because of a conspiracy by the authorities just to ignore them, or whether the level of homophobia that exists in our community creates an environment where people are just unwilling to assist the police."
Bishop Simeon Hall, who pressed police for an update on the McDonald/Taylor killings in recent weeks, told The Tribune yesterday, that he will reserve comment on this latest murder until he receives more information.
Bishop Hall was threatened with death over his remarks weeks ago by an anonymous telephone caller.
By BRENT DEAN
The Tribune
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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