As the authorities move to cremate slain prison escapee, Royden Williams, called “Smallie” the family has gone public with the help of counsel, calling for the remains to be handed over to them.
At a press conference moments ago, Attorney Nigel Hughes, lamented that the hesitancy by the Prison Service is only leading to further speculation and conspiracy theories surrounding Williams’ escape from prison and his subsequent death.
He told reporters today that one of the reasons the family is so determined to acquire the body is to have a second autopsy performed. Hughes said Williams’ father is not satisfied with what he saw during the initial post-mortem examination. If the body is cremated, Hughes said that performing a second examination could prove futile.
“Once you cremate the body, there is nothing to have a second autopsy to be performed on. One of my recommendations to the family was that they should have a second autopsy. Mr Williams (senior), who observed the body, was not allowed to see the back of the body. He observed bullet holes at the front of the body,” Hughes said.
He explained that projectiles can enter the body and exit without leaving “big holes”. He said that one of the critical questions was “What was the back of Royden Williams looking like?”.
“We don’t know, in the absence of seeing the back of the body, whether there were entry wounds to the back of the body,” Hughes said.
He added that a second autopsy would provide answers.
The attorney said that the scramble to cremate the man’s body will only fuel speculation. He added that the family would also have to endure the fact that they could not bury their loved one in accordance with their religious rights. Hughes said all of this could be avoided if the authorities did the right thing and hand over the remains.
