AS hundreds of mourners paid final tribute yesterday to Lloyd George “LG” Brown, the immediate past president of the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association (JGRA), police reported the nabbing of two suspects in connection with the double murder of Brown and his female companion, Sandra Campbell.

The head of the police force’s Criminal Investigations Branch (CIB), ACP George Williams, confirmed that two suspects had been taken in for questioning for the murders. He said one of them was a domestic helper who was employed by Campbell.

Police did not reveal the names of the suspects or provide further details.

Brown and Campbell, both business people, were shot and killed at Campbell’s Stilwell Road residence in Stony Hill on June 5 in what police believe to be a contract killing. Two others were held hours after the murders.

Brown, whose funeral service came a day after Campbell’s, was eulogised as a loving, trusting and ethical man before a large turnout of family members, friends, employees, business associates and other well-wishers who packed the St Andrew Parish Church in Half-Way-Tree, St Andrew.

Trevor Heaven, the president of the JGRA, paid tribute to Brown and described him as “a loving, trusting and ethical man” who was a source of advice and guidance for the association.

“LG gave of his talents, his resources, his time, (his) energy and his heart to ensure that we remained viable,” said Heaven. “We at JGRA are yet to come to terms with his passing.”

Heaven also expressed condolences to the relatives and loved ones of Sandra Campbell.

The gas station owner’s sister, Evelyn Brown, remembered her brother as a source of financial and social support for her family and said that he would often act as a mediator.

She said her brother was a disciplined and determined person, dedicated to his two children whom he taught business principles, and was a father figure to her and her siblings.

“This is undoubtedly one of the saddest days of our lives,” she said. She said that Brown had been against the crime and violence that took his life and had been unafraid to voice his concerns about the issue in Jamaica.

Brown was composed for most of the remembrance but began crying when she read the last line.

“Good-bye my brother,” she read, her voice breaking. “May your soul rest in peace.”

She then broke down in tears and was led back to her seat by family members. Also representing the family were the deceased’s two children, Keena and Donovan Brown, who both read scripture verses during the service.

Their father’s death follows the death of businessman Maurice Azan last month and outcries by the private sector on the state of crime in Jamaica, culminating in the Emancipation Park declaration.

Reverend Dr Howard Gregory, who gave the sermon at yesterday’s funeral service, said that there were too many statements on the issue of crime and violence and not enough individual action.

“We have occasions of ‘bawl out’ and then we return (from) whence we came,” said Gregory.

He criticised the hypocrisy of people who paid bribes to police and customs officers in secret and then publicly demanded that the police force clamp down on extortion.

He said that an individual’s Christian faith and the life of Jesus Christ must have relevance when people were faced with extortionists and other criminals and people should not assist evil to “save their own skin”.

Brown was later buried in his family plot in Davis Pen, Trelawny.