Suspicious death victim Freddie Gilbert had been stabbed in the chest before his body was found floating in water in St. David's, according to a source close to the investigation.

And residents now believe the nearby concrete hut fire which killed Mr. Gilbert's friend Maxwell Brangman could not have been an accident — as there was precious little in it to let the flames spread of their own accord.

Eyewitnesses who saw Mr. Gilbert's body lifted from Great Bay on Monday morning described it as beaten up and with an apparent stab wound to the chest. People who knew Mr. Gilbert say Police have told them he suffered a chest wound.

The usually quiet St. David's community is still reeling from the deaths of the two homeless friends — both well known characters who spent time in the shed behind the Black Horse Tavern where Mr. Brangman's badly burnt body was discovered on Sunday morning.

According to residents, the only things in the hut were plastic chairs, a small stack of books and small piece of furniture on which Mr. Brangman used to sleep.

"There ain't nothing in there that could burn up like that," one friend of Mr. Brangman told The Royal Gazette. "There was nothing flammable for him to be burnt that badly. It was a concrete hut.

"Someone said maybe they had some liquor that caught fire while they were asleep. But they never left no liquor in the bottles when they went to sleep.

"I don't believe it was accidental. I believe they saw something they shouldn't have seen."

Black Horse manager Judy Williams summed up the mood in the area: "Are we safe in St. David's now? Are we safe working in the Black Horse? The whole St. David's community is wondering what's going on.

"Why two homeless people? Especially these two guys — they wouldn't even hurt a fly. Whatever happened, they didn't deserve it.

"We are all hurting. Everybody in the community is hurting. We want to know if it's an accident or a murder. I would like to believe it's an accident because how can you justify that?"

Neighbour Brian Adams watched from his own home as Mr. Gilbert's body was recovered by Police.

Mr. Adams said: "I saw an object floating and I wasn't quite sure what it was. It looked like it could have been a piece of wood. Then I saw the boat going towards it and the Police and I realised it was a person. It was grim.

"Obviously, something has occurred. I don't know what, but my thoughts go out to the families."

Anyone with information should call Police on 299-4315 or CrimeStoppers anonymously on 1-800-623-8477.