Hyacinth Watson said she’s still searching for answers and struggling to cope after her son Omar Watson died while on a solo trip to Colombia. Per CNN, Omar, 31, landed in the South American nation’s capital of Bogota on February 24.
Prior to leaving, Hyacinth said she told her son to keep in touch – which he initially did when he got to Colombia. “I told him, ‘Omar, if nothing else, make sure every time you get into your Airbnb at night, you message me and say, ‘Mommy, I’m OK,’” she recalled.
Omar, an online stock trader and entrepreneur, is said to have texted his mother the first three days, but Hyacinth called him on the fourth day after she did not hear from him. That was, however, the last time the two spoke as Omar’s body was found in his Airbnb rental on February 29.
Hyacinth has since raised questions about the circumstances surrounding his death. She told the news outlet that at the time her son’s body was found, some of his items including his phone, iPad and wallet were missing.
She also said her son’s missing phone could have helped with investigations and possibly provided information about what happened before he died.
“There’s not a day that I don’t break down. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t wish I had taken a flight and gone to see him,” she said. “I don’t sleep very well at night. I barely eat. My entire life is different. And nobody is telling me how my child died.”
American tourists frequent Colombia, but traveling to the South American country is said to be risky, CNN reported. Black people also reportedly experience racism and discrimination. Prior to traveling to Colombia, the US Embassy in Bogotá released a warning after what it described as “eight suspicious deaths” of American nationals in Medellin between November 1 and December 31, 2023.
“At this time, it is not believed these deaths are linked as each involved distinct circumstances, however several of the deaths point to possible drugging, robbery, and overdose, and several involve the use of online dating applications,” the embassy said.
The embassy also revealed that tourists were being drugged with scopolamine, which is also known as the “devil’s breath.” Hyacinth told the news outlet that she was aware of that warning and feared that her son had fallen victim to it.
She said that during their last conversation, Omar had told her that he had diarrhea and vomited over the previous couple of days. He, however, told her that he was on the mend and had bought medicine from a pharmacy. She also said Omar was adamant he was fine after she asked him why it seemed his breathing had slowed down.
“I asked him if he wanted me to come and get him. He said, ‘Yes,’ but then he changed his mind. So I said, ‘OK, he’s a young man. Maybe he wants to stay a little while longer and enjoy his visit,’” she recalled.
Hyacinth said she ultimately reached out to the US Embassy in Bogotá after her subsequent efforts to contact her son proved futile. She said the embassy notified her about her son’s death on March 1.
In the wake of Omar’s death, an investigative report that was initially sent to his mother stated that the Bogotá apartment’s administrator said the last time he and the 31-year-old spoke was around 4 p.m. on February 28. He also told police that he found Omar “without vital signs” in the bathroom the following day after he was unable to get in touch with the 31-year-old.
The report, per CNN, also said his cause of death was “to be established” at the time. “I don’t know what happened down there. I cannot get any answers. I keep trying to get information, but nobody is listening to me,” she told the news outlet in July. “An autopsy was done, but I have not received any results on the cause of death.”
Colombian authorities in April ultimately ruled his cause of death as natural as he passed away after suffering interlobular pulmonary thromboembolism associated with right deep vein thrombosis. The forensics investigator did not also suspect Omar had died under violent circumstances or had any trauma signs on his body.
But Hyacinth said she was not even notified about his son’s cause of death. “How is that possible? I did not know that. No one told me, why didn’t they tell me?” she said after CNN told her about her son’s cause of death.
Hyacinth also said that she still has more questions. “I’m thankful for that little part of the information, but it’s not enough,” she said. “I’m wondering if that [pulmonary embolism] was the only reason. Is there more to the story?” she questioned.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me the results when they came out in April? Where is the official autopsy report? Where are the toxicology results? I want to know — was there anything else in his system?”
