Updated | UWI student found in tank wanted to be a journalist

CEDAR GROVE, Manchester:

He was believed to be the life of the party, the one who could make light of any situation, and a promising young man whose goal was to become a broadcast journalist and give back to his mother for the sacrifices she made for him.

But when the 22-year-old’s body was found floating in a tank in the Cedar Grove community in the parish on Saturday, November 21, it was then clear that those aspirations would have also died with him.

Anjeneil Campbell, a final-year student at The University of the West Indies, said to be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Entertainment and Cultural Enterprise Management, was always admired by those he came in contact with.

“He was a jovial person, fun-like. He was the vibes man. He loved cooking and playing games with his friends. He was always saying he wanted to read news on TV, and he was really looking forward to that,” said close friend Travis Green.

Campbell, who was off campus and back home fulfilling his online class requirements, according to Green, made daily treks to his relatives’ house to get Internet access.

“It was not uncommon for Campbell, who was off campus as a result of the pandemic, to be at his friend’s or relative’s house in the days because he didn’t have any Internet at home ... Tuesday was the last time I saw him … He is a man like that, who would go by his friends and other relatives or even to Mandeville to do business, so we wouldn’t really question where he is going or where he went because that was his regular routine,” Green told The Gleaner.

Lifeless and being taken out of a tank of water was not the way they were expecting to see Campbell.

“I was out in Mandeville when I heard what happened, and to be honest I am still in shock. Everybody is shocked because he wasn’t one to make trouble. He was a simple and humble person. And knowing that something like that happened to him, it is just sad.”

“Where he was found is not where he lived. Cedar Grove to a section of Waltham is walking distance, and when he was going to Mandeville that’s where he would walk. So I don’t know what happened along the way,” he added.

He said one of the persons finding it most difficult to grapple with the Campbell’s death is his mother.

“His mother not taking it so well at all … She really tried with him and to know that this happened on his final year when he would be in a better position to contribute back, when he had his whole life ahead of him. She was even hospitalised after the incident because her heart couldn’t manage. We just have to take this one step at a time. Somebody who you are around 24/7 just gone so is not easy to deal with.”

The matter is still being investigated by the police.

NOTE: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect spelling of Campbell's first name. The degree for which he was reading was also incorrect.