THE niece of a 34-year-old pregnant woman who was found dead along with her 43-year-old husband and their 16-year-old son early Tuesday morning in Waterloo District in Spanish Town, St Catherine, battled emotions to explain how badly her aunt was looking forward to meeting her new baby.

The three deceased — Sharon Francis-Wellington, her husband Omar Wellington and son Orlando Wellington — were found dead inside their house with hands bound and, according to the police, were shot and their throats slashed.

Police said that residents reported hearing explosions after 3:00 am and when checks were made the family members were found dead.

“I can’t understand how my aunty just gone so. She was pregnant and looking forward to her baby. You know how long she wanted da baby yah? She was three months into her pregnancy. It would have been her second child,” the niece told the Jamaica Observer, with a look a depression on her face as she took phone calls from relatives and friends who had just heard about the triple murder.

“Nobody saw anything like this coming,” said the niece, adding that the family worshipped at a Church of God in the community and was considered a Christian family.

She lamented that her little cousin, Orlando, who was a student of Inswood High School in St Catherine, was very eager to go back to school this Thursday.

“He was going to go in fifth form. His birthday was in August,” she said.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Stephanie Lindsay, who heads the Corporate Communications Unit, told the Observer that the house the Wellingtons lived in was ransacked by their killers.

The SSP said there were no immediate leads; however, police believe that an individual who is closely connected to the family could be of assistance to investigators probing the matter.

Lindsay said the police are aware of a recent shooting in the community but could not say whether that could be linked to Tuesday’s incident. She also said there is a possibility of reprisals and, as a result, the police will keep watch on the community.

While Lindsay couldn’t say what the motive was, an Observer source claimed that the triple murder could have stemmed from the fact that a well-known gang in Spanish Town was on the hunt for someone very close to the family. The source further claimed that it may have been in frustration for not being able to find that individual that the gangsters decided to brutally murder the couple, their teenage son, and unborn child.

A male resident of Waterloo described the family as a jovial one that did not trouble others.

“They don’t argue with people and they don’t get in fuss and fight,” he said, puzzled by what could have led to such a brutal act.

Another man claimed that though he is not easily moved to tears, when he woke up and heard the horrific news, he broke down and cried.

“I am a man who is hard to cry but I had to cry, especially for the little son. That little boy was so well-mannered. He does not pass without greeting you. His father used to work at a golf course, but an auto parts company took him away from the golf course and gave him a job. I know them long time. They lived here for more than 15 years. They attend the Church of God down the road,” the man said.

On Tuesday, People’s National Party councillor of the Lauriston Division Keisha Lewis said residents were in fear because of a series of violent criminal acts in recent times.

“A number of residents say they are afraid. I call on the police to be out here patrolling or even establishing a static post to ensure a sense of safety and that investigations can be carried out. A pregnant wife, husband and child were taken out. It has left the community in a very shocked state and a sombre mood and all of us are trying to come to terms with what happened. All of us are in a state of limbo because we are pretty much concerned that a community that had experienced peace so long has been seeing incidents of crime popping up,” Lewis said.