By INDARJIT SEURAJ Tuesday, November 3 2009

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Marlon Noel (INSET) who died on Saturday. ...

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A Mt D’OR man who was robbed and shot at his home last month, died at hospital following complications arising from a bullet lodged near his spine.

Marlon Noel, 36, a father of one from Springville, Mt D’Or, died Saturday at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) in Mt Hope. He was shot in his left thigh and abdomen on October 20.

When he was admitted to hospital on the day he was shot, his injuries were deemed “non-fatal” by doctors, his relatives said.

But things took a turn for the worse one week later when it was discovered that the bullet had ruptured his intestines. Days later, he died after developing sepsis (bacterial infection in the blood). This was confirmed in a post-mortem yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre in St James.

Relatives claimed the infection developed after personnel at EWMSC failed to properly treat Noel’s injuries. Doctors at the institution reportedly told relatives they could not remove the bullet since it was lodged too close to Noel’s spine.

In a strange twist, following the post mortem yesterday, investigators reportedly informed relatives that no bullet was lodged inside Noel. But Andrea Taylor, Noel’s common-law wife, displayed to Newsday an x-ray which showed the bullet lodged near Noel’s spine.

Relatives said they are now exploring their legal options. To date, no one has been held for the shooting which led to Noel’s death.