CHARLESTOWN, Nevis - POLICE have informed that there was no foul play in the death of 40-year-old Veon Sutton of Stoney Hills, Nevis.
In a press release, police stated that sometime after 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday (Mar. 23), officers had responded to a report which led them to the discovery of Sutton’s motionless body along a bay at Bath Village.
He was reportedly pronounced dead on the scene by the District Medical Officer who visited the area.
However, in a subsequent release, police stated that an autopsy was performed on his body yesterday (Mar. 25) by Resident Pathologist, Dr. Adrian Nuñez..
It stated that Dr. Nuñez concluded that Sutton’s death was as a result of mechanical asphyxia due to bronchoaspiration of gastric contents, and that no foul play is suspected.
Research has shown that mechanical asphyxia, which is sometimes referred to as traumatic asphyxia, “generally means there was some kind of mechanical obstruction of the airflow to the lungs”. It further showed that “the most common cause of mechanical asphyxia is choking, that is, something gets stuck in the airway and blocks it”.
In terms of bronchoaspiration of gastric contents, Science Direct states: “Perioperative pulmonary aspiration of regurgitant gastric contents is defined as the presence of bilious secretions or particulate matter in the tracheobronchial tree. The term bronchoaspiration has been used to describe the same phenomenon.”
