By RHONDOR DOWLAT Thursday, October 1 2009

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The killers of 18-year-old Mikel Dowell, whose head was almost severed in the brutal attack, realised they had made a mistake while fleeing the scene at King Street in St Joseph on Tuesday night.

An eyewitness heard one of the two men who chopped Dowell, shout to the other, that they had murdered the wrong person.

That Dowell’s killing was a case of mistaken identity was no consolation to his mother Avril Dowell and father Nigel Alexander.

“He was so innocent. He was a very good boy and I am not saying that just because he is my son. Everyone in the village can attest to that. He was loved by everyone,” Avril said during an interview at the Forensic Science Centre in St James yesterday.

Police said that about 6.30 pm on Tuesday, Dowell was returning to his mother’s Savary Street, St Joseph home after purchasing doubles from a vendor.

As he and a friend approached King Street, two men walked up to them. One of the men, armed with a cutlass dealt Dowell a hard blow to the neck. The teenager’s head was almost completely chopped off and he fell into a drain.

As the men ran off, one of them shouted that they had made a mistake and killed the wrong person, a passerby later told police.

After officers from the nearby St Joseph Police Station and a district medical officer viewed Dowell’s body, it was taken to the Forensic Science Centre.

Avril could not bear to identify her son’s body at the centre yesterday and asked her sister to view it for her. This was too traumatic for Avril’s sister who came out of the autopsy room screaming. She almost fainted and had to be supported and helped to a chair in the waiting room.

Although reluctant at first, Avril finally spoke about her son who she said was a helpful and humble boy.

“He was loved by everyone. He loved his family very much. I can’t understand why this had to happen to my son,” she said.

Dowell’s father Nigel Alexander shared similar thoughts about their son.

Alexander said Dowell who lived with him at Germain Avenue Extension in Irving Street, Petit Bourg, was an electrical student at Servol and had been helping him to care for his grandmother who is ill with cancer.

“I only have two children and Mikel was my only son. He was studying hard and could not wait to finish his studies and start a job in an electrical company. He used to help me a lot around the house, including helping me see about his grandmother,” said Alexander as he stared at a photograph of his son.

Alexander’s eight-year-old daughter Aleeka hugged him as he spoke.

“I would wake up every morning at four o’clock to drive a rubbish truck and then come back home at about 9 am to see about my ailing mother. It is very hard for me. I have to accept my loss because there is nothing I can say or do that can bring back my son,” he said.

Alexander, 42, is worried about how he is going to pay for his son’s funeral. He is thinking of selling his car.

“Right now, I am so strapped for cash. It is real hard,” said Alexander whose expenses include the medical bills for his ill 58-year-old mother Cecila Marchan.

Alexander said the murder has stirred up memories of the killing of his brother Changa Rovello who was shot dead at Sunshine Avenue in Malick three months ago and whose killing has been described as gang-related.

Alexander does not believe his son and his brother’s killings are connected.

A close friend of Dowell, who asked not to be identified, said Dowell was not a gang member, did not take drugs or sold it.

“He was like a role model to the other guys here in Petit Bourg. He would always have a back chat for anyone who wanted to give him talk but at the same time, was never disrespectful.

“He always spent time with his family, especially his sick grandmother. We will surely miss him because he grew up right here and everyone knew him.”

Police are searching for the two suspects.