“He was beautiful inside and out”

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]nother light has gone out in the world, leaving behind a circle of family and friends to come to grips with the tragic loss.

About 9:15pm on Friday October 20 Ian Celestine’s body was found, unresponsive with a blow to the head, along the Vieux Sucre Road in Gros Islet. According to police reports, “He was escorted to the Gros Islet Polyclinic where he was pronounced dead by a medical practitioner.”

A 32-year-old dancer, student and resident of Vieux Sucre Road, Ian was known as a loving individual. A few of his family members appeared shell-shocked on Monday night’s televised news, after receiving confirmation of his passing.

“It is unbelievable how something so bad could happen to someone so good,” his cousin Joedina Celestine stated. “His presence made everybody happy”.

The victim, who was a member of the Movement International Dance Group, was on his way to a performance on the night of the incident. His absence raised alarm amongst the other dancers, only to have their questions answered the following morning.

The STAR reached out to a member of the Gros Islet dance community who said, although he had worked with Ian only a few times, “I could tell that he was loved by everyone he worked with.”

Ian’s death was recorded as Saint Lucia’s 43rd homicide and is currently under investigation by the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force.

“Right now we are waiting on the police to do their job and we’re waiting for further information as to the investigations,” Joedina said after expressing the family’s wish to have the wider public refrain from speculation and spreading rumours.

Ian’s cousin also lamented, “He was beautiful, inside and out, and I want him to always be remembered that way.”