MANDEVILLE, Manchester — The 33-year-old woman accused of killing her husband, Constable Damien Blair, last month at the couple’s home in Somerset is to be interviewed by detectives following her discharge from hospital on Monday with criminal charges looming against her.

A senior police source told the Jamaica Observer that the Area Three police Major Investigations Division (MID)is leading the probe.

“She was discharged on Monday afternoon. She is at a police facility now. The MID is leading the investigation, so they are going to do their interviews with her and move forward with the investigation,” the source said on Tuesday.

An autopsy that was done on Monday confirmed that the policeman was shot and received wounds resulting from “blunt force trauma to the head and neck”.

“Bullet fragments were removed from the body as well,” said the source.

The couple lived on Desmond McKenzie Close formerly Guava Walk Road in Somerset, a deep-rural community in north-west Manchester.

A police report said about 6:25 pm on May 29, Blair was reportedly shot inside the family home, allegedly by his wife. According to the police, Blair ran from the house but collapsed at his gate, where further wounds were reportedly inflicted with a hammer.

The Observer was told that Blair was found on a dirt road at his gateway clad in only his underpants. Police said his wife was found inside the house with a laceration to her wrist. It is reported that she had barricaded herself inside a section of the house. Constable Blair was pronounced dead at hospital, while his wife was admitted in stable condition before being released into police custody.

Police confirmed that investigators found the licensed pistol belonging to Blair and evidence of items used during the dispute, including two hammers and a machete at the couple’s house.

Relatives, neighbours, and colleagues of Blair said the couple had a stormy relationship, which coloured intense discussions about the chilling event in recent weeks.

Antonia Sutherland, Blair’s sister, in an interview on May 30, claimed that the couple was embroiled in disputes for several years during their 13-year relationship, including eight years of marriage.

During a candlelight vigil, organised by Blair’s colleagues last Wednesday at the Mandeville Police Station where he was assigned to the guardroom/patrol department, senior officers said the incident was “heart-wrenching”.

“We all join this noble organisation, the JCF, and we know it is very challenging, but we all hope that at the end of our time in the organisation, we leave in one piece. Constable Blair’s life came to an end prematurely,” said head of Area Three, Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Glenford Miller.

“Sometimes we say maybe some of us will die in the line of duty. When we realise that death comes another way, it is really heart-wrenching especially the circumstances in which he died,” added Miller.

Head of the Manchester police Superintendent Shane McCalla shared similar sentiments.

“This [is] not one of the easiest things that a commander has to do…I would have seen a lot in my time, but I must say that this one hits home really hard and I can only imagine how those who would have served with him for a longer period of time are feeling…” said McCalla.

The Manchester Community, Safety and Security Branch has organised a domestic violence forum for 6:00 pm on Wednesday, June 28 at the Mandeville Baptist Church.