Brit expat engineer, 66, who ran superyacht marina in St Lucia found battered to death in a pool of blood in his home
Cambridge graduate Robert Hathaway was found dead by a neighbour at his home on the Caribbean island
A "HERO" Brit engineer has been found dead in a "pool of blood" at his Caribbean home.
Police in St Lucia have launched a murder probe after Robert Hathaway, 66, was found dead by a neighbour.
Cops said blood was found at the murder scene in his home on the island, where he has lived for about 18 years.
The Cambridge graduate, from Codford St Peter, in Wiltshire, owned and managed a 150-berth superyacht marina on St Lucia .
Friends have paid tribute to the "hero" who they said was popular with locals and went by the name Bob.
Shirleyann Giffard, 46, from Birmingham, who met Bob while on holiday in St Lucia, and was due to visit him on the island next month, said: "Bob was a loving and caring man.
"St Lucia will miss a hero and loving man who cared for St Lucia."
St Lucia will miss a hero and loving man
Shirleyann Giffard, friend
According to reports, he married local woman Macarena James, who was aged 21 at the time, in December 2017 though they spilt after just a few months.
“I am now 21 years of age and Bob is 65. People think I’m with Bob because of his money . . . that’s a myth," she is reported to have told a local newspaper.
"I’m with Bob because he changed my life. I love Bob for who he is.”
Bob's website said he "sailed to Saint Lucia" in 2001 and bought land in Marigot Bay.
He founded the Marigot Sunshine marina, catering for smaller sailing yachts and superyachts and also built a solar-powered catamaran - the first of its kind in the Caribbean.
Keats Compton, president of the Marine Industries Association of Saint Lucia said: "Apart from anything else, Bob was a pal of mine. It's horrific."
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Police made the gruesome discovery on Sunday and a spokesman said: “We can confirm that the body of a British national has been found where he lived in Grand Riviere, Gros Islet.
"We are waiting for the forensic report to establish his cause of death.”
A Foreign & Commonwealth Office spokeswoman confirmed: "Our staff are supporting the family of a British man following his death in St Lucia, and are in contact with the St Lucian police."
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