LONDON, UK – Jamaican-born UK-based businesswoman and philanthropist, Theresa Roberts says her husband drowned 43 years ago after white men threw him into the River Thames in London.

Roberts, in a recent interview with The Independent, said although her husband’s drowning was classified as an accident, she believes his death was not adequately probed because he was black. 

The 65-year-old St Elizabeth-born businesswoman, a victim of racism and sexism herself, said her then spouse – 27-year-old Vere Skeete – died sometime “around lunchtime” on May 14, 1979, while he was around some acquaintances. 

She recalled that Skeete was having a drink at the time near the river. He couldn’t swim, but his “friends or acquaintances” threw him in the river and he later drowned. 

“This was white people’s sense of humour,” said Roberts, who was 22 years old at the time her husband died.

“At the time if you threw someone in the Thames, they would find you, but if you threw a black man in the Thames, then the killer will get away with it,” she added.

Roberts revealed, as well, that police had told Skeete’s family that he had in fact drowned after he was thrown in River Thames.

“The police interviewed the men and they said it was a joke. In the seventies, it didn’t matter if you were black,” she declared, adding that officers eventually concluded that the drowning was an accident.

Roberts said the whole ordeal left her upset, as well as feeling emotional, especially with her now 47-year-old son resembling her late husband.

The businesseswoman, who has the largest Jamaican art collection in Europe, disclosed that her children continue to “suffer” from Skeete’s death. Among them is her son who is named after his deceased father.

Though she has since remarried, Roberts said that, at the time, her family were critical in providing great support.

Still, she has fond memories of the man she married to in the 1970s, describing him as a “happy go lucky, fun man”.

Skeete, who was a native of Barbados, worked at Collins book printing, and Roberts said she first met him in London.

Of her upbringing in Jamaica, Roberts told The Independent that she was raised in St Elizabeth, and by age eight, she migrated to the UK, settling in Battersea in south London.

Her mother worked in Lyons tea shop and did cleaning for British Rail, while her father was a labourer until he could no longer work due to injuries, she said.

Now, the philanthropist has made her wealth from investing in real estate, and by running a food business called Jamaica Patty Company, which has two restaurants in central London.

But getting to that level was no easy feat for the entrepreneur, as she was a victim of both racism and sexism in the UK.

Roberts shared that when she went to purchase her first property, it was assumed she could not afford it as she was a black woman. But in the end, it was the house she ended up buying, she added.

“In the early days I had a lot of sexism. Everything I did, I had to work harder to make it work, but that has only made me more determined. The tougher it gets, the tougher I get,” Robets told The Independent. 

With those experiences fresh in her mind and her homeland etched in her heart, despite leaving at such a tender age, Roberts sees herself now as a “nationalist for Jamaica”.

“If you ask me what I am before I am a black woman, before I am a married woman, before I am a mother, I will tell you I am a Jamaican,” Roberts indicated.

She now helps grassroots Jamaican artists.

Additionally, her private collection is currently being shown at an exhibition at Victoria Gallery and Museum in Liverpool titled ‘Jamaica Making: The Theresa Roberts Art Collection’.

Regarding her native land, Roberts said,

“Jamaica is a beautiful country that contributes to world culture and the changing world. 

“I say that from my heart. Culture is important. Culture is like family. There is nothing wrong with people being proud of their culture. Jamaica has a rich culture in everything they do,” asserted the esteemed businesswoman.