Article Title: Tragic News: Javan Burton, 31, Found Dead at Foul Bay Beach in Barbados

Javan Burton was supposed to start a new job this week.

Instead, on Tuesday night, the 31-year-old became one of Barbados’ latest murder victims—his bloodied body found on the sand at Foul Bay Beach, St Philip, alongside Dejuan Amon Niles, 21, of Hopewell, Silver Sands. Both men had been stabbed to death, taking the number of killings for 2025 so far to 15.

“For what? He wouldn’t hurt a fly,” his grieving mother, Marsha Burton, cried on Thursday as she clung to the wall of her Ocean City, St Philip home.

“Now my son is a statistic.”

Police reported that around 11:18 p.m., they received a call from a man claiming he had been involved in a row at Foul Bay.

When District ‘C’ Police Station officers arrived at the scene, they found the lifeless bodies of two men with multiple stab wounds. A doctor pronounced them dead at the scene.

“When I saw the body, I couldn’t even recognise him,” Burton’s mother recalled, fighting through tears.

“The image is torturing me. To think what he must’ve gone through . . . He did not deserve that.”

Burton was known for his quiet, humble personality and deep love for nature.

He often visited Foul Bay to reflect and relax—away from the crowds and noise of the world, his mother said.

“He liked his own company. That beach was his peace,” Marsha said.

The last time she spoke to him was on Monday when he proudly gave her an air fryer he had just bought. The next morning, he left home for his usual walk—and never returned.

By Tuesday evening, when she didn’t see his green car parked outside or hear from him, dread began to set in.

“I messaged him to say I had food for him and he didn’t respond . . . It got later and I started to worry even more . . . something didn’t feel right. I prayed nothing had happened,” she said.

Her worst fear materialised on Wednesday morning when two police officers knocked on her door and later asked her to identify her son’s body, which she said was unrecognisable—a testament to the devastating moments that formed the last few minutes of his life.

The news rocked the Ocean City community, with Eleanor Rayside, a close neighbour and family friend, remembering Javan as the young man who used to help her with odd jobs.

Noting that he was like a grandson to her, she said: “He was so respectful. Those curtains you see were put up by him last Christmas.”

Rayside added that she had been in deep prayer for the young men of Barbados amid rising crime when Marsha informed her of Javan’s demise.

Another woman from the Foul Bay area, Sandra Petite, who met Marsha for the first time on Thursday, said Burton had once helped her as a complete stranger—building her a walking cane and offering her rides to the supermarket.

She said the news broke her heart and compelled her to find where he lived so she could share with his family how good a person he was.

The grieving mother expressed gratitude for Petite’s visit, saying it confirmed what she already knew about her son’s character.

“We’ve been hearing about the killings. Now my child is one of them . . . .Society has lost its way. There’s so much anger, hate, sin. It’s heartbreaking but God is in control . . . . He has the final say,” she said.

The family is being supported by Reverend Cameron Connolly, a pastor and long-time friend.

As investigations into the circumstances continue, The Barbados Police Service is appealing to anyone with information on the incident to contact the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-8477.

shannamoore@barbadostoday.bb