Whilst there is so much conjecture and uncertainty surrounding the circumstances of Gavin Watson’s death, we do know one thing for sure.

Gavin Watson’s family view his death with a great deal of suspicion, and the preliminary conclusions of a private pathology report sent to the family this week will do little to dispel that.

Family members have been vocal in the wake of that report, and IOL spoke with one unnamed Watson who has unanswered questions related to Gavin’s phone:

Another family member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Watson had sent or received a WhatsApp message about 4.27 that morning. He died shortly after.

“It is still a mystery on how his trip to the airport, which would have lasted less than 30 minutes, took him about an hour. We don’t know whether he had a detour or whether he was stopped along the way, even who he was chatting with via WhatsApp as his phone has also disappeared, “ the family member said.

Watson’s phone was initially traced to a residential area in Germiston in the East Rand and later to Bryanston, north of Johannesburg.

“Whoever has his phone has a lot to explain but unfortunately it has now been switched off and can’t be traced.”

It seems ludicrous that Watson’s phone has simply vanished into thin air, but here we are.

Another source, close to the investigation, has also voiced concerns about the crash scene being staged:

“I just think his death was staged,” said the source without giving more information. Bosasa, the controversial facilities management company, is implicated in corruption and bribery at the State Capture Inquiry.

As things stand, there is zero footage of the accident. When Ekurhuleni metro police chief General Jabu Mapiyeye checked with the South African Road Agency offices, he was told that “their cameras are pointing in the opposite direction from where it happened”.

One member of the Watson family who doesn’t mind speaking on the record is Gavin’s nephew, Jared, and he didn’t mince his words when speaking with TimesLIVE:

“What we know is at the time of the impact his heart was not beating. If it had been there would have been a lot more blood on Gavin’s body. He had a massive wound to the neck but there was hardly any blood, which is suspicious, especially as he was on blood-thinning medication.”

…Jared said on the balance of probabilities the death could be foul play.

“We have our suspicions on who could be behind the foul play. We can’t think of anyone else being behind his death, except for one person.”

Jared declined to name the person they suspected.

Probably a good idea not to name the person they suspect, but I’m pretty intrigued.

Jared also bemoaned what he says is a lack of answers from police, and an unwillingness to assist with the family’s own private investigation efforts:

“Our crash-scene investigator has been battling with a complete information lockdown. He asked us to contact Toyota so he could obtain certain data, including data dealing with the vehicle’s airbags, but the car manufacturer refused our requests based on instructions from the police.

“Private avenues for us to obtain information are being closed by the police, yet they [the police] are apparently doing nothing themselves to investigate this [the crash].”

That does sound suspicious, but then again, South African law enforcement is notorious for not doing much in the way of investigation, and they are criminally understaffed and under-resourced.

It could be weeks until the formal results of that private pathology reports are in, so expect plenty of conjecture during that time.

[sources:iol&timeslive]