- “The worst Mother’s Day of my entire life”
It's Mother's Day this Sunday, May 26, 2024. A day normally full of joy and gratitude to those who gave us life. But there is one mother in particular who will not have the heart to celebrate: Mary Alberte. This 65-year-old woman mourns the death of her son Danlay Mignon, who was 31 years old. Her grief is all the greater because she does not know how he lost his life.
The young man died in circumstances that were “disturbing” to say the least, on Thursday May 16, 2024, just six days after his admission to Brown-Séquard hospital in Beau-Bassin. All he leaves behind is a damaged mother and a multitude of questions that are, for the moment, unanswered. What happened to him ? What time did he die? Why was access to his remains initially refused to his two sisters? Mary Alberte wants the truth about her son's death.
We have to go back to Friday May 10, 2024 to better understand the case. That day, the sixty-year-old had Danlay admitted, escorted by police officers, to Brown-Séquard hospital due to slight psychiatric disorders. “He just had to be interned due to some minor disorders. There you are in reflection. Li pa ti slept aswar. Li ti koz tousel. Monn admits li mantal,” says Mary Alberte, her face marked by pain and fatigue.
The mother was far from suspecting that the next time she saw her son, he would return home, on Daffodil Street at the Richelieu residences, with his feet first. Moreover, she affirms that apart from these slight mental disorders, her son “was in good health”.
“Tuesday (May 14; Editor’s note), monn apel mantal. Bann-la dir mwa ki so letta pa bon, ki zot pe rod ranfor ek ki bizin atas li pu donn li medsinn. Wednesday (May 15; Editor’s note), monn sone. Bann-la dir mwa ki li korek ek ki pe donn li so medsinn. Zedi, (May 16; Editor's note), around 6:30 a.m. gramatin, bann-la apel mwa. Monn insists ar zot, lerla zot inn dir mwa ki mo piti inn mor,” she says.
A massive blow for Mary Alberte. Continuing her story, she says that her two daughters went to the psychiatric hospital the same day to begin procedures to recover her son's remains. “Zot pann les mo bann tifi rantre”, indicates the sixty-year-old.
She adds that staff claimed that her child's body had already been transported to the morgue at Victoria Hospital in Candos. She specifies that one of the nurses said this to her daughters: “Mo krwar li ti ena enn problem lagorz ek kapav gard (the agents from the Petite-Rivière police station having escorted Danlay from his home to the psychiatric hospital ; Editor’s note) inn bat li. »
Statements that his daughters forcefully refuted. “Upon admission, my son had no injuries on his body. My daughters insisted on seeing his remains. But the staff refused them access,” maintains the mother.
The police then turned to the family members to ask for their consent for an autopsy to be carried out. They immediately accepted. A note stamped by the police force, a copy of which is in the possession of Le Dimanche/L'Hebdo, states that Danlay died as a result of acute pulmonary edema (editor's note).
An explanation that is far from enough for his family in the face of the accumulation of disturbing facts. First there is the fact that the young man, according to his mother, was not ill at the time of his admission, apart from his mental disorders. “Zame monn amen mo piti kot dokter pou al konsilte, ni dispenser, ni l’opital!” Mo piti zame inn swiv enn tretman. Kouma li kapav inn mor ar lung problem? » she said in tears.
Another disturbing fact noted by the family: the presence of a red substance similar to blood under the nail of the ring finger of the deceased's left hand. A photo was taken by a relative shortly before the funeral ceremony.
“We also noticed that his left eyebrow bone had a bluish scar. Lerla nou'nn dir inposib. Kouma kapav inn gagn disan anba so zong ek enn mark ble lor so figir? I want to understand what happened,” she said.
What also troubles her is the plastic bag that contained her son's clothes. “Kouma linn mor, deswit bann-la inn met so linz deor in enn sak plastik. Mo doubt se lopital mem. Eski zot inn donn li enn medsinn for? Ouswa eski zot inn fer enn pikir ar li kinn aret so leker? » indicates the mother.
Personal effects
Her biggest mistake, she continues, was not having the presence of mind to open the bag to examine its contents. “Sel remove my iron, I didn’t end up opening my plastic bag. Mo nek inn met sak-la dan so serkey kan inn al antere. “We can’t get you in this situation if you find a kiss,” laments Mary Alberte.
Other information would have been communicated to her, without her necessarily understanding its relevance. Shortly before the autopsy, she was allegedly told that her son had placed his mattress on the floor at the psychiatric hospital in order to sleep. “Thing he never does. I make an oath before God. Mo piti zame inn pran matla pou dormi anba! » specifies Mary Alberte.
The mother admits that her son was not his first admission to Brown-Séquard hospital. “It was the fourth time. But he tended to return home on the third or fourth day after admission. I was far from suspecting that when he left the house on May 10, he would return with his feet first. »
Since the tragedy, the last words her son said to her resonate within her. “Ale ma, mo pe ale.” Zot pe al touy mwa la,” he would have told him. For her, it was as if “li ti kone dan ki soufrans li pe al pase”.
All she wants now is the truth about Danlay's death. ” I want to know. What really happened on the evening of May 15 to 16? » she asks. While waiting to have answers to her questions, Mary Alberte must deal with her sadness. “I am suffering deep inside. My son was taken from me. Monn vinn koumadir enn dimounn fol,” she confides.
This Sunday, Danlay's absence will be heavily felt. “I will be very sad. Besides, he had just lost his father, who died seven months ago. This will be the worst Mother’s Day of my entire life,” she says. If she had a message to send to families whose loved ones are interned, what would it be? “Get well ahead or kit or family. Atansion ou kit zot ek ou na pa reuv zot vivan,” replies Mary Alberte.
The Ministry of Health invites the family to file a complaint
The Ministry of Health has been asked to comment on this case. “We would first like to express our sympathies to the bereaved family. But the ministry invites him to make an official complaint to the Brown-Séquard psychiatric hospital in Beau-Bassin. An internal investigation will then be immediately opened in order to shed light on this matter,” it is specified.
A bon vivant who loves music
Danlay is described by the neighborhood as a bon vivant who loved music. He had worked in the field of false ceilings and painting.
“My son, who is not married and who has no children, was a man without history. He had worked until he fell ill,” confides his mother.
