WESTERN BUREAU:
TWO MEN, including a visitor from Finland, were shot and killed in separate incidents in Trelawny on the weekend.
On Saturday night, 53-year-old Timo Pellinen of Helsinki, Finland, and his 24-year-old Jamaican wife were travelling from the Sangster International Airport to Ocho Rios, St. Ann.
Reports from the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) are that during the trip, the couple stopped on the Harmony Hall main road at 10:30 p.m. when a car drove up and hit the rear of the couple's vehicle.
The other motorist came out of his vehicle to look at the damage and after talking with the couple, an explosion was heard. It was discovered that Mr. Pellinen had been shot. He died on the spot. His wife reportedly ran into bushes to escape harm.
Less than 24 hours later, 65-year-old building contractor, Silvas Thorpe, was shot and killed at his home in Green Park, on Sunday afternoon. His 54-year-old common-law wife was injured in the incident.
According to the police, Mr. Thorpe and his partner were at home about 4:30 p.m. when he went outside. An explosion was heard and his common-law wife found him suffering from gunshot wounds.
Two masked men, one of whom had a handgun, forced her into the house where they robbed her of $7,000 and phone cards valued at $3,000. She was then shot in the region of her left breast. The men fled on foot in the area.
Twenty-two persons have been killed in Trelawny since the start of the year, compared to 16 for the same period last year. This represents an increase of almost 40 per cent.
- Nagra Plunkett
