Suicide suspected in hotel death

Lange’s body was found by the hotel’s security staff after they detected a foul odour coming from the room.

Lange, originally from Texas, checked into Room 1108 at the hotel last Tuesday and was supposed to check out three days later.

On Friday night, Garvin Rivers, a security officer at the hotel, noticed the foul smell coming from the room. The door to the room, which was secured with a chain, had to be broken down for hotel personnel to get inside.

They found Lange’s body, which was in a state of decomposition, lying face down. Several bottles of medication and syringes, purchased from a pharmacy in Chaguanas, were found in the room.

Officers from the Homicide Bureau of Investigation (HBI) were called in and they cordoned off the area.

They later said Lange may have committed suicide because of the evidence they gathered at the scene.

Officers said a relative of the dead man had come forward to identify the body and the autopsy will be performed on Tuesday. When Sunday Newsday visited the scene yesterday, the room where Lange’s body had been found was locked, although the balcony windows were open. Officials from the Crowne Plaza Hotel refused to comment on the matter.

Although there is no such precedent in this country, in Japan, relatives of suicide victims who end their lives in hotels or rental apartments are charged exorbitant fees, since the price of the room is reduced by half because no one wants to stay there and it has to be renovated.

The hotel then sues the bereaved family.