MARIGOT--A joint murder investigation is underway by French and Dutch authorities to find the killer(s) of Frenchman Michael Grainville (31) after French-side Prosecutor Jacques Louvier disagreed with Dutch-side authorities over the initial police report indicating Grainville had died of "natural causes."
Louvier ordered a French-side investigation after stating the incident was a homicide.
The victim's father Philippe confirmed to The Daily Herald Friday that his own independent verification on Thursday had proved that his son had died from a single 9mm bullet to the chest that had caused internal haemorrhaging. A blow to the left side of Michael's head also was discovered.
"I wanted to be sure there were no mistakes with the autopsy," said Philippe.
The Dutch-side police also announced on Friday that they now were treating Michael Grainville's death as a homicide.
Michael Grainville was found lying on the ground bleeding from the nostrils in the vicinity of a popular adult entertainment centre in Maho around 8:00am on Sunday, October 9. According to the first reports from the Dutch-side police, he was still breathing when emergency services arrived and his body "did not show any signs of violence or foul play."
Grainville reportedly had gone to the club to collect his Russian girlfriend from work. A rental car Michael used to collect his girlfriend reportedly vanished from the scene.
Michael was one of eight sons and had been living in St. Martin for seven years. The family is from Martinique, but Michael was born in France. He had been working at the exterminating business Chris Stop Bugs in French Quarter for a year.
"I have no idea why he was murdered," said Philippe. "I know the young lady he was seeing and my son was very much in love with her. Michael was a gentle guy and very popular. This was a boy who didn't have any problems; no history of violence, drugs or anything. The police and Gendarmes had already verified that. But I was very surprised that the [Dutch-side] police either lied or tried to cover up his murder."
In a press release Friday, Dutch-side police spokesman Inspector Ricardo Henson stated: "This case was classified as a homicide on Thursday, October 13, by a pathologist after an autopsy was done on the body of the victim. The victim was shot in the chest by an unknown person or persons and after committing their act [they] fled in the vehicle the victim was driving. This vehicle has not yet been located.
"The victim bled on the inside. The pathologist discovered a very small wound in the middle of the chest and later located a projectile of a small caliber in the cavity of the body. This projectile was confiscated in connection with further investigation.
"This case has been declared a homicide and the Police Force is asking anyone who may have information in connection with any of these ongoing cases to please come forward and give this information."
Reliable reports reaching The Daily Herald said the son of a leading politician on the Dutch side was one of Michael Grainville's close friends and was one of the first persons on the scene rendering assistance.
Other reports reaching this newspaper said one lead being pursued by the authorities is that the murder was witnessed by two girls from the club.
Responding to reports that in his search for information about his son's murder he had encountered some resistance from representatives of the adult entertainment centre located close to the murder scene, Philippe told this newspaper, "Maybe the club doesn't want bad publicity, but that's not my problem. This is my son that got murdered. It's time for the Dutch side and French side to speak freely without threats. If the truth about my son's murder can come out and make the future better then I will be happy."
Commenting on reports that Michael had received threats following a difficult divorce, Philippe said his son had never been married.
He also said that while it was possible somebody had been paid to kill his son, he had no proof of any such scheme. "It is very sad. It is a mystery. This has to be resolved to find out what is going on in St. Martin/St. Maarten. Otherwise everybody is going to continue living in fear."
Philippe added he did not hold a grudge against the Dutch-side police for their report. "I accept it after living here for so long. Besides I am not a judge."
The management of Chris Stop Bugs said Michael was "punctual, serious, kind and generous" and never had problems at work. They described his murder as bizarre.
Michael's funeral is set in Marigot for Tuesday.
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