Omar Watson made a promise to his mother before he left New York City for Colombia in late February.
It was the last time she heard his voice. In the early afternoon on February 29, less than two days after that phone call, Omar Watson was found dead in the bathroom of his Airbnb.His American passport was on a wooden dresser near the apartment unit entrance, according to a report from police investigators in Bogotá. But his phone, iPad and wallet had vanished, his mother said.
“He just wanted to see the world. Any country he could travel , he did,” his mother said. “I never ever imagined that his death would happen during his travel.” Hyacinth Watson had seen the embassy’s warning and worried that her son had been the victim of foul play. When he did not answer her calls for the next two days, she knew something was off – it was unlike him not to return her calls. She contacted the US Embassy in Bogotá and implored them to check on him at the address he gave her, she said.A language barrier complicates a mother’s search for answers
The US Embassy in Bogotá sent her an initial investigative report compiled by local authorities and dated February 29, the day her son’s body was found. A colleague from her job as a teacher assistant in Brooklyn sat down with her and helped her translate. First responders noted some over-the-counter medication in the apartment, including a Unisom PM Pain bottle, an unopened DayQuil bottle and a bottle of Doloff, a Latin American pain medication similar to Tylenol, along with a brown stain that appeared to be vomit on the floor near the kitchen. The report said apart from his passport and suitcase, there were no other valuables at the scene.” – CNN | Commentary via paralegal__ on TikTok
