Pretty disturbing story to read especially after the attack at Ironman South Africa last year on FVL. Not sure what the “no foul play” bit is about, that must be an error correct?
Interesting that they are not considering have a tire tied around his feet as “foul playâ€. Are they thinking he committed suicide?
Either an error or they suspect he drowned himself. Very strange strory for sure.
Tire tied to his feet and no foul play?
Wtf?
So, he left a hotel room in the middle of the night and then showed up dead with a tire around his feet?
Not fishy at all
So, not actually at the IM?
Technically no, just a participant expecting to compete on Sunday.
Still, fishy as all hell.
Was the story edited after the post on Slowtwitch? I do not see anything that says “no foul playâ€
Was the story edited after the post on Slowtwitch? I do not see anything that says “no foul playâ€
Still there on the second to last sentence for me, “Police have opened an inquest docket and no foul play is suspected.”
Maybe tyre is just a bike inner tube? Could have bound his feet together deliberately for training
Was the story edited after the post on Slowtwitch? I do not see anything that says “no foul playâ€
Still there on the second to last sentence for me, “Police have opened an inquest docket and no foul play is suspected.”
Ok- I am officially too tired from a long day. Read that sentence 3 times before my brain acknowledged that!
Thanks for pointing it out.
This seems to be consistent with the police work chronicled in the “Blade Runner†murder trial. Not good
I’d say it’s either a suicide, or cold play.
Why would he be up at 1am walking around the marina? Also the CCTV footage would’ve captured him with a tyre if it was suicide you would think. It’s unlikely he’d go down to the marina with the intent of ending his own life and hoping to find something there to help. These things are usually planned, they are rarely ‘chance’ or ‘opportunistic’. It’s not like someone would go for a walk at 1am and say to themselves, ‘oh there’s a car tyre, I might use that to take my own life’ if they hadn’t gone down there with that purpose to begin with.
Alternatively, it is a marina. There may be a chance he was taking a walk and witnessed something he shouldn’t have at that time in the morning?
Weird, I’d like to know more about this “tire around his feet” thing. The first thing that came to mind was maybe he was doing some sort of pulling exercise in the water, and “tire” was really an inner tube.
On a side note, I’m fascinated that a search dog picked up the scent of his body from a boat on the surface.
Weird, I’d like to know more about this “tire around his feet” thing. The first thing that came to mind was maybe he was doing some sort of pulling exercise in the water, and “tire” was really an inner tube.
On a side note, I’m fascinated that a search dog picked up the scent of his body from a boat on the surface.
I am wondering how you get a tire around your feet unless it is an inner tube. You do you wrap a car or bike tire around the ankles?
I’d say it’s either a suicide, or cold play.
Also the CCTV footage would’ve captured him with a tyre if it was suicide you would think. It’s unlikely he’d go down to the marina with the intent of ending his own life and hoping to find something there to help. These things are usually planned, they are rarely ‘chance’ or ‘opportunistic’. It’s not like someone would go for a walk at 1am and say to themselves, ‘oh there’s a car tyre, I might use that to take my own life’ if they hadn’t gone down there with that purpose to begin with.
I’m guessing he found the tire (tyre) on a boat in the marina and stole it. It’s not in the article linked at the beginning of the thread, but, according to other articles I read, he was captured on CCTV at the marina going onto people’s boats and moving from one boat to another - like he was looking for something.
The tire bit is odd, but my first question is: do many of you travel to a foreign city and decide to get up in the middle of the night and go for a walk or workout without letting your wife know where you’re going? From the other articles I read, it doesn’t sound like he left her any clue where he was going - no note, text on phone, didn’t wake her up, etc. That’s more suspicious to me than the tire. I can’t imagine traveling anywhere in-state - much less out of the country - and leaving the hotel without giving my wife a heads-up or the means to find me if I don’t come back on time. I’ve left hotel rooms before while she was still sleeping. I don’t recall ever leaving without leaving her a note, or telling her ahead of time that I might go out before she got up.
The tire thing is odd, but his secretive departure from the room makes me think he was up to something he couldn’t tell his wife about. And trespassing on people’s boats is just odd if he was really just out for a walk or planning to go for a training swim.
I believe he was a very experienced sailor, and he owned a boat. Maybe he was just looking at boats down there. I think he also swam a lot, so he was comfortable in the water. Very sad
Without any other information to suggest otherwise, it sadly, sounds like suicide. My condolences to his family regardless.
On a different note, to link his death with the FVL robbery from the previous year is unfair and paints South Africa unfairly.
I believe he was a very experienced sailor, and he owned a boat. Maybe he was just looking at boats down there. I think he also swam a lot, so he was comfortable in the water. Very sad
I’ve never owned a boat, so I don’t really know what the etiquette is. Is it more or less acceptable/expected that if you keep your boat parked at a marina, people are going to walk on it? I’m assuming that’s trespassing. Someone coming on to your boat at 1 AM is the same in my mind as someone standing in your driveway at 1 AM because they want to admire your car.
If I’m wrong about this, feel free to correct me. I’m not a sailor.
Assuming this is not some sort of accepted etiquette I’m unaware of, I’d say it’s even more suspicious. If I’m a boat owner, I probably know walking onto other people’s craft in the wee hours is a no-no.
Yes I don’t know it either. Just saying it sounds like boats were a huge part of his life, so not odd he’s walking around them. Now on them? I don’t know what his intentions were. I’m guessing he was not hoping for a random tire to be there so he could kill himself tho
My first thoughts from reading the article was that it appeared to be a suicide, but I could be wrong, and as a local I know how potentially dangerous it can be almost anywhere in SA, but the whole story sounds strange from the start.
Surely before an IM you want to stay in? and if nerves were that hectic walking around early hours of the morning would seem like a bad idea for any number of reasons.
Anyhow re the tyre around his legs, I assume there was a rope tied around the tyre and around his legs as well.