Justin Pace died from “natural causes”, stemming from heart complications, while hanging out with friends in Żurrieq on Sunday and not from hitting his head on the ground after falling, an autopsy established, police sources said.
His heartbroken parents, Raymond and Monica, however insisted when contacted yesterday their son, 21, never had a medical history and was healthy, fit and strong.
Ms Pace could not fathom how her otherwise healthy son had suddenly dropped dead. “He was so healthy. He was never ill... These past two months he took up training at the gym with his girlfriend. He was taking it seriously and had bought protein shakes, which he used to take religiously.
He was so healthy. He was never ill
“He would flex his biceps and ask me to check out his progress; I would laugh and brush him off. I can’t believe he’s gone.”
The family, the parents said, had been kept completely in the dark about what occurred on Sunday and were utterly shocked to learn from sections of the media that their son had died from natural causes.
The young man’s death did not result from a heart attack or from thrombosis, as was reported in some sections of the media yesterday, sources noted, making a distinction between a heart attack and heart complications.
Relatives given conflicting answers over CCTV footage
The youth’s father said that, upon reading the news of the cause of death on various online portals, they went to the Żurrieq police station where they said they were told the inquiry into the tragic incident was ongoing.
Mr Pace said he asked about CCTV footage examined by the police and was informed the incident was not captured on camera. However, he added, when his daughter-in-law, Annabelle Pace Callus, asked about the footage the police gave her a conflicting response: the images were too grainy to make out what happened. “We have sought legal advice and our representative contacted the mortuary but we were given no answers,” Ms Pace Callus said.
We just want to know what really happened to him
“We’re not doctors so we don’t know what was going on within Justin. What we do know is that he had no previous medical history. We just want to know what really happened to him so that we can let him rest in peace,” she added.
His funeral was held on Tuesday at the Żurrieq parish church. He was a huge devotee of St Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint. The family said one of the young men who was with Justin at the time of the incident told the police and the deceased’s parents that he was involved in horseplay and when he was pushed to the ground by a friend.
The police said on Sunday the youth died after falling and hitting his head on the concrete ground in the area known as Fuq il-Ġibjun (Nigret) in Żurrieq.
Justin’s 16-year-old girlfriend, Kimberly Borg, told this newspaper she was fiddling with her mobile phone when the incident happened.
“The boys were fooling around. Then I heard a thud and I sprang up. We tried to place him in the recovery position but he was completely unresponsive,” she said.