RUNAWAY BAY, St Ann — As residents of an apartment building in Cardiff, Runaway Bay, pushed water left by firefighters’ hoses from their homes and hung belongings out to dry on Monday, they took a moment to grieve the fiery deaths of a mother and her young child, though they did not know their names.

The woman had moved into one of the building’s bedrooms about two weeks ago with her daughter. They shared the use of the living and dining areas with housemates who said they saw them going to and from their room, and the child sometimes played in the yard.

Police sources have filled in some of the gaps but for now the deaths of the mother and child are still shrouded in mystery.

Twenty-six year-old Shellion Hamilton and her eight-year-old daughter Gabriella Lambert moved to the house in late January this year. There are reports that she was having relationship challenges and showed signs of depression.

Police sources say about 10:35 am on Sunday, Hamilton’s landlord helped her as she made the journey from St Catherine to her Runaway Bay apartment. He took her suitcase to her section of the house, alerting her that it was at her door, which was locked. As he left, another tenant alerted him that smoke was coming from Hamilton’s apartment. He forced open the door only to be greeted by thick smoke and fire. He tried to extinguish the fire with water from a hose but failed.

Alex Sanchez, whose room is adjacent to the one shared by the mother and child, told the Jamaica Observer that he was in his section of the house when he heard what he determined to be an explosion.

“I was in my room and then mi hear an explosion, and then mi see smoke start come into my room, so mi run go downstairs and call mi landlord. Then we kick off the door, but we couldn’t go in because the smoke was too thick so wi just go outside and use a hose to spray some water through the window,” said Sanchez.

“Me feel it for the little girl still, because she young and don’t really live no life yet,” he added mournfully.

The fire brigade was summoned and, after cooling down operations, the two bodies were found amid charred rubble.

When the Observer visited Monday morning, neighbours appeared gutted by the deaths. One man, who requested anonymity, said the only encounter he had with the child was last week Thursday when she waved at him.

“I just see them going to and from but never really exchanged words. I saw the little girl in the yard about two days ago and she wave to me and I wave back,” he said.

“I feel it especially for the child because I have a young daughter who could be around the same age,” he added.

Speculation is rife about the cause of the fire, which is still under investigation. Firefighter Oneil Kerr, who sifted through rubble gathering evidence at the scene on Monday, said he was unable to confirm rumours that it may have been a case of murder-suicide. The investigation is still at an early stage, he told the Observer.

As he worked in that section of the house, residents whose property was drenched during firefighters’ cooling down operations forlornly positioned waterlogged furniture to soak up sunlight and swept away heavy water. They conceded, however, that it could have been much worse.

Nadesha Sutherland, who was among those removing soaked towels and sheets from her apartment, told the Observer that, though she is left with the daunting task of cleaning up, she is grateful no one else had been injured.

“We just have to cope because it could’ve been worse. The entire house could have burnt down and more people could have died so we are grateful that didn’t happen,” she said.