Asot Anthony Emmanuel Michael[1] (21 December 1969 – 5 November 2024) was an Antiguan politician who was a member of the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda, elected from Saint Peter Constituency.
[10] However, less than two months later, on 15 May 2018, he resigned from his position amid new allegations claiming that he demanded money, a car, and campaign financing from British tycoon Peter Virdee while serving as minister of energy in 2016.
[12] In May 2019, Browne admitted in a public statement that Asot Michael has been a great asset to the government and the Antigua Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) and that he had made tremendous contributions to the country.
However, on 12 November 2021, Michael secured an interim injunction that temporarily prevented the party from restricting his attendance at executive meetings, taking any action to remove him from the ABLP, or obstructing him from performing his duties as the duly elected representative for St. Peter.
On 7 April, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court supported Michael’s position by issuing an interim declaration stating that Turner had not been selected in accordance with the ABLP’s rules.
[19][20] The last two years of Michael's life were marked politically by episodes of bickering in parliament (even culminating in his controversial suspension by the House Speaker[21]) to moments of rapprochement with the ABLP and Prime Minister Gaston Browne.
[22][23] Around 8 am on Tuesday, 5 November 2024 the police responded to a report, where the body of Michael was found unresponsive in a pool of blood at his home at Dry Hill in Saint John, Antigua and Barbuda.
[26][29] A family insider stated that Michael was brutally attacked, with a piece of the weapon embedded in his body and his teeth knocked out, suggesting he was struck in the face, even though police have not revealed the motive for the crime.
[25] On 7 November, Attorney General Steadroy Benjamin announced the authorization of Cabinet to reach out to the UK government for a Scotland Yard team to come to St. John’s and assist local law enforcement.
[36][37] On 21 November 2024 the government has confirmed that a forensic pathologist from Canada, Dr. Alfredo Walker, has been commissioned to undertake in Antigua the autopsy on the body of Asot Michael.
[38] On 7 November, the government, led by Prime Minister Gaston Browne, decided to grant MP Asot Michael an official funeral,[39][40] which took place on 18 December, at Holy Family Cathedral.