Family and close friends of a Canadian man who died in Costa Rica nine days ago are still wondering how Shawn Edmonds, of Kitchener, Ontario, died.
“We don’t know exactly what happened to Shawn,” Kitchener’s Dawn Luscombe, who identified herself as Edmonds’ girlfriend, told The Record on Saturday.
“His mother asked us really not to talk about anything until we have more answers,” Luscombe said Edmonds — a 42-year-old contractor who did carpentry, bricklaying and drywalling — was on vacation in Costa Rica to attend a friend’s wedding.
A GoFundme.com page was set up to help the family: “On October 21st 2017 we got the call Shawn has passed away in Costa Rica. We are still unsure the causes of his passing but we are fighting for answers. With the help from the canadain embasey (sic) in costa rica as well as our canadain embasey (sic) and police we are hoping to find out what happened and find the justice we need for Shawn as we lay him to rest in peace.”
The GoFundme page, started by Kristen Botelho, has so far raised $1,100 of the $25K goal to “come up with the money to give Shawn a beautiful funeral to match his beautiful soul.”
According to the page, “we are still waiting for Shawn to come back home (…).”
What happened
Edmonds died at the Hotel Riu Guanacaste, under very strange circumstances.
As reported by the OIJ, Edmonds came down to reception from a room, but from one moment to another became very aggressive. During the angry rage, the foreigner tried to jump over the reception counter to attack the person on the side when hotel security staff detained and handcuffed him.
“While sitting in a chair, placed there by security staff, he seemed to be in a daze, minutes fainted and died,” said the report.
Judicial authorities are waiting for the results of the autopsy to determine the cause of death of the Canadian if due to a heart problem, or by some type of intoxication or by a blow received during the altercation.
According to the Organismo de Investigacion Judicial (OIJ), the mysterious death of the Canadian may take several weeks to resolve. The OIJ says among the test performed is toxicological for poisonous substances and their effects.
Family still waiting
On Friday, Global Affairs Canada released a statement about Edmonds’ case.
“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the Canadian Citizen who passed away in Costa Rica,” said a statement from Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Brianne Maxwell.
“Canadian consular officials are working closely with local officials to gather more information and are providing consular assistance to the family and friends as required. To protect the privacy of the individual concerned, further details on this case cannot be released.”
