A former member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Alicia Ruby Richards, was killed in what the Covington Police in Georgia, USA, said was a murder suicide last Thursday night.

A report on the Rockdale Citizen website quoted Covington Police Department Captain Craig Treadwell as saying that the 40-year-old Richards was apparenty shot by her ex-husband, 48-year-old Norman Alphonso Richards, during an argument.

“Investigators interviewed eyewitnesses, and at this point in the investigation it has been determined that the male suspect shot the female victim then turned the firearm on himself,” Treadwell was quoted by the Rockdale Citizen.

The newspaper reported that Treadwell stated in a press release that officers were called to a possible shooting at 10112 Wellington Ridge Drive around 10:30 pm. When they arrived, they discovered both victims had been shot and died at the scene.

“Treadwell said that Mr and Mrs Richards had attended a school function together for one of their children earlier in the day. When they returned to Alicia Richards’ home, Norman Richards apparently became angry that Alicia Richards disciplined one of their daughters by taking away her cellphone,” the Rockdale Citizen report said.

The police captain said the couple were reportedly arguing in the kitchen when Norman Richards pulled out a gun and shot her more than one time. He then turned the gun on himself.

“The shooting occurred in the presence of the couple’s two young daughters who lived with Alicia Richards. They are now with other family members,” the Rockdale Citizen reported.

According to the newspaper, Treadwell said the couple were divorced, but officers have been called many times over the years to the Wellington Ridge address for domestic violence-related situations.

Yesterday, Corporal Llewellyn Wynter, who joined the JCF at the same time as Alicia Richards in 1997, remembered her as a very nice person.

“She was always smiling; easy to get along with,” Wynter told the Jamaica Observer. “I can’t remember anything ever upsetting her. She was a very jovial person.”

Wynter said he and Richards (whose surname at the time was Stewart-Walker) were among the first batch of 182 JCF recruits trained at Eco Village in Chestervale, St Andrew.

He said that Richards left the JCF between 2004 and 2005.