Suspected suicides in Kingston, Clarendon

THE police say they suspect suicide in the death of a man in Kingston and another in Clarendon, yesterday.

They have been identified as:

. Shawn Murphy, 27, janitor of Queens Crescent Kingston 11; and

. Michael McKenzie, 32, farmer of Springfield, Thompson Town, Clarendon.

The Constabulary Communication Network reported that about at 3:10 am, a family member discovered Murphy’s body hanging by a length of rope from a mango tree at his home. The police was summoned and the body removed to the morgue for post mortem examination.

In Clarendon, the police said that at approximately 9:00 am McKenzie’s body was discovered hanging by a length of rope from a tree at his farm. The scene was processed by investigators and the body removed to the morgue.

Businessman shot dead in Thompson Pen

BUSINESSMAN Devon Francis, 29, a resident of Tryall Heights, St Catherine, was shot dead by gunmen in Thompson Pen, yesterday morning.

The CCN’s metro officer said that about 11:15 am, Francis was at his businessplace in Thompson Pen when he was approached by two gunmen. He ran and was chased by the men onto the Thompson Pen main road where he was shot dead. The police were summoned and the body removed to the morgue for post-mortem.

Child injured in house fire

EIGHT year-old Latoya Edwards of 2nd Street, Cockburn Gardens, Kingston 11 was injured in a fire which damaged sections of her home Thursday evening. She has been hospitalised.

The CCN reported that about 8:50 pm, Latoya was at home with family members when fire was seen coming from a section of the house. An alarm was raised and the fire brigade summoned. A unit from the Trench Town Fire Department put out the blaze. Estimate of loss has not yet been ascertained and it is not known if the house was insured.

Investigators from the Hunts Bay Police say that Latoya, who was asleep at the time of the fire, was injured while running from the burning building.

Robber beaten to death

ONE of two men who commandeered a taxi-cab was beaten to death by a group of persons at Mount Cheerful in St Andrew, Thursday night.

The dead man, believed to be in his mid-20s, is of dark complexion, slim built, about 170 centimetres tall and was clad in a blue jeans pants.

According to the CCN, at about 7:30 pm a taxi-operator was robbed of his Toyota Corolla motor car by two gunmen in the community. Members of a police party who were informed of the incident saw the car in the area. The driver was signalled to stop but instead of stopping he sped away.

The car subsequently crashed and one of the men was apprehended, severely beaten and chopped by a group of persons. He died on the spot. His crony, however, managed to escape.