I fear my poker star son was murdered abroad — I can’t believe he is gone
A MUM fears her professional poker player son may have been murdered after he was found dead in the Philippines.
Jackie Bain, 54, says Darren Young’s watch, wallet, bank card, casino chips and wads of cash were missing when his body was found in a plush condo he was renting in capital city Manila.
And she revealed the 32-year-old had texted friends warning about a mystery couple he had met hours earlier, telling them: “I think I’ve been drugged.”
Filipino coroners say the gambler died from double pneumonia, but experts here raised concerns and ruled out the cause of death.
Anguished Jackie told The Scottish Sun on Sunday: “Darren was a great poker player.
"He was doing really well and making a lot of money.
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“He was staying in a luxury condo by himself.
"That’s where they found him on the bed.
“There was no signs of a struggle but he had nothing with him.
“Darren had a pile of poker chips — they were gone.
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"So were his watch, his wallet, his bank card and the local and British money he had with him.
“I think the fact he was doing so well may have brought him to the attention of the wrong people.”
Darren, from Kilmarnock, had travelled to Thailand, China, Dubai, Pakistan and Cambodia before ending up in Manila.
He had headed out for a break but began playing cards to make extra cash.
The dad of one rented a short-stay pad in a ten-storey block near the city’s casinos and airport and had been there just a couple of weeks.
Darren, who has a daughter Kara, five, messaged pals hours before his body was found to say he had met an American gambler and a local woman but was wary of them, fearing they may have spiked his drink.
Loved ones raised the alarm after being unable to contact him and cops discovered him dead on a bed in the flat.
Jackie added: “I got a call to tell me they had found him.
"I was just screaming.
“Darren was the nicest lad.
"He was kind to everybody and well liked.
“He was making thousands and liked nice clothes and fancy restaurants.
“Darren was the kind of guy who would give you everything he had if you needed it more.
"We can’t believe this has happened.”
Hospital worker Jackie says a post mortem was carried out on her son in Manila after his body was found in May.
The triathlon runner’s cause of death was given as “pneumonia, bilateral” but concerns were raised when an expert in this country carried out an investigation after he was flown home.
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Jackie says a second examination ruled out the lung condition but says further testing was thwarted because her boy had been embalmed overseas.
The Foreign Office says it is liaising with Filipino police about the case.