Charred remains removed from burnt home in Norwood

An air of mystery still surrounds the death of two men in St James, whose bodies were found in a partially burnt-out house in Hendon, Norwood, on Friday morning.

While residents believe the men – who up to press time last night had only been identified as ‘Shane’ and ‘Mokey’ – were killed by armed thugs before the house was set on fire, investigators are awaiting the completion of their probe to determine the cause of the men’s deaths, noting that the bodies were severely burnt.

Residents in the area known as Joan Avenue told The Gleaner that they heard gunshots coming from a section of the community, shortly after 1 a.m. on Friday, and then saw fire coming from the direction of the house, which is located on Hacca Street. They, however, did not call the fire brigade until daylight.

“Up yah so, we affi see and blind, hear and deaf. So nobody nah run out a them house dem time a night deh, especially after dem hear so much gunshot,” one resident said.

“Up yah suh, a life or death, suh nobody nuh have time fi come out a door fi come look inna night because dem same one might pick up gunshot, so fi have a happy and long life, wi affi just keep wi mouth shut,” the resident added.

The police reported that they were called about 8 a.m., and upon their arrival, they discovered that the house was on fire.

They said that they then summoned the fire brigade. The firemen carried out cooling-down operations, and the remains of the two males were removed from the house.

The St James police and investigators from the St James Division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade will revisit the scene today to continue their probe.

Superintendent Rudolph Seaton, commanding officer in charge of the St James fire service, told The Gleaner that it is customary for investigators to conduct multiple visits to the site of a fire in such cases.

Seaton said that one unit was dispatched from the Montego Bay Fire Station about 9:30 a.m. on Friday after receiving an emergency call.

Upon arrival, the firefighters saw several police officers attached to the Norwood zone of special operations at the location.

“They were already on the scene. They have already carried out their assessment and they advised us that inside of the building – a 10-apartment concrete structure with slab roofing – that there were the burnt remains of what appeared to be two male adults,” he added.

A curfew was imposed in the area effective 7 p.m. last night. It is set to expire at 6 a.m. on Monday.

hopeton.bucknor@gleanerjm.com