Superintendent of Police Newton Amos tries to calm the crowd that gathered at a scene in Maverley off the Washington Boulevard, St. Andrew, yesterday, where the bodies of a man and woman were found in a building, a section of which was burnt out. The police suspect a murder-suicide. - RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A THREE-YEAR-OLD child is now without a mother and father
after both parents were found dead in their home in Maverley, St. Andrew.
The bodies were reportedly burnt after the house was found on fire yesterday. Dead are Lisa Ellis, 32, a cosmetologist, and Troy Chambers, 42, of Campden Avenue in the community.
Residents claim it was a murder-suicide but police say they will have to conduct more investigations to ascertain whether this was so.
Residents say the common-law couple was involved in a long-standing dispute over the sharing of the house as they were having problems and had decided to separate.
According to neighbours they were alerted about the incident when they saw fire coming from the house. "I got a call minutes to 7:00 that the house was on fire and when wi come a bare fire wi see a come out," Ellis' brother said.
Pauline Dacres, Ellis' mother, said on Tuesday night she stayed at the house to ensure calm between the two as they were having frequent fights.
STORMY RELATIONSHIP
However the family as well as residents believe that the fights became more intense and early yesterday morning Chambers killed Ellis, set the house on fire, put their child outside, went back inside the house, killed himself and both were consumed in the fire.
"She call mi 5 o'clock this (yesterday) morning seh she a go country and mi mus carry wan bag come give har because she waan go a country go cool out," Dacres said.
She said that the next call she received was that her daughter was dead. Family members and residents rushed to the scene to see the bodies. The charred remains of the house seemed too much for one relative who fainted outside the house and had to be revived.
