Tourist officials in Barbados have issued a statement to clarify the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of a British woman who was visiting family on the island.
Initial reports in the UK media, based on information from family members, said Natalie Crichlow, 44, has been attacked by an intruder, strangled, doused with a flammable substance and set alight while lying in bed.
But a statement by BarbadosTourism Marketing Inc, based on information from the island’s police chief and government, says the stories were ‘inaccurate and unfounded’.
"From the evidence reported and shared by Police Commissioner Tyrone Griffith, Ms Crichlow’s death seems to have been caused by a fire which began in the kitchen of the house she was residing in," it said.
"We do not yet know how that fire started. Furthermore a forensic report which analysed Ms Crichlow’s clothing has found no evidence of any accelerant at all, showing further inaccuracies in the reporting we have seen.
"This is unquestionably an incredibly tragic incident and we are all deeply saddened by the death of Ms Crichlow. Our thoughts and prayers are with MsCrichlow, her family and friends. The Barbadian authorities and the British High Commission are supporting her family at this time of unimaginable sorrow."
The mother of three suffered 75 per cent burns to her body on the day of the incident, 28 July, and died in hospital on 6 August.
