Why Did Grenada Close the Andrew Frederick Homicide Case?

Grenadian police have closed the investigation into the death of British father Andrew Frederick, 47, despite an autopsy report from the week he died ruling the case a homicide, according to the charity supporting his family and reporting by the Guardian.

Frederick's body was found on January 4 in a ransacked property on the Caribbean island, the Guardian reported. Nearly ten months later, the Murdered Abroad charity says the family remains without a full criminal investigation and is demanding that the UK's foreign affairs select committee intervene.

What happened to Andrew Frederick?

Frederick, 47, was found dead in a property in Grenada that had been ransacked, the Guardian reported, citing the family's supporters. The circumstances of his death prompted an autopsy within the same week, according to the report.

What did the autopsy find?

The autopsy, conducted the week Frederick died, found he had suffered "blunt force trauma" and had been tortured, including through the removal of a toenail, the Guardian reported. The pathologist who carried out the examination ruled the death a homicide, according to the autopsy report cited by the Guardian.

A former Scotland Yard homicide commander now supporting the family told the Guardian the pathologist, described as a qualified medical examiner, "categorically states that he believes this is a case of homicide." The commander called Grenada's handling of the case "incredible," according to the Guardian.

Why did Grenadian police close the case?

Despite the autopsy's homicide ruling, Grenadian police found there was "no basis ... that any homicide has occurred" and closed the case, the Guardian reported, quoting the police finding directly. The Guardian's report does not include a further public explanation from Grenadian police for the discrepancy between the police finding and the pathologist's conclusion, and HTT News could not independently reach Grenadian authorities for comment.

Murdered Abroad's founder, Eve Henderson, said the family has been met with delay rather than resolution. "We understand there are challenges but [almost 10 months] on, this family is still being met with obfuscation," Henderson told the Guardian. She said the family's situation raises a broader question about consular support: "If a family this determined cannot get the FCDO to put their diplomatic powers to good use, what hope is there for the 60 to 80 families bereaved by murder abroad each year?"

What is the UK government doing?

UK authorities have said Frederick's case was raised with officials at the highest levels of government in Grenada, according to the Guardian's reporting, which did not specify further detail on what that outreach achieved. Henderson is now calling for a minister to examine how Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) handles consular support for families bereaved by killings abroad, or for the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee to step in directly, the Guardian reported.

The family, according to the charity's account to the Guardian, has been forced to spend the months since January fighting for a renewed investigation rather than grieving.

How common are these cases?

Henderson's figure of 60 to 80 families bereaved by murder abroad each year, cited in her remarks to the Guardian, is presented as part of her argument that Frederick's case is a test of how the UK handles consular cases generally rather than an isolated dispute. The Guardian's report does not include an independent verification of that annual figure from a UK government body.

By the numbers

• 10 months: time elapsed since Frederick's body was found on January 4 and the charity's public demand for government intervention, per the Guardian.
• 60 to 80: families Henderson says are bereaved by murder abroad each year, according to her statement to the Guardian.

The case now sits with the FCDO and, potentially, the foreign affairs select committee, as Murdered Abroad presses for the investigation to reopen. No timeline for a government response has been reported.

For the full reporting, see the Guardian's original story.