‘This is a shock to me’
Mother of two left to hold family together after suspected suicide
Published:Tuesday | May 7, 2024 | 12:10 AMRochelle Clayton/ Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
Jody-Ann Barrett is in ‘”shock” and now left to pick up the pieces and hold her family together after her common-law husband, Andre Nicholson, died of an alleged suicide over the weekend.
The man reportedly took his own life inside a female bathroom at a school neighbouring the St James community of Catherine Hall, where he resided.
According to the St James police, Nicholson was last seen on the school compound by a security guard approximately 9:50 p.m. on Saturday, before the guard concluded duties.
His body was subsequently discovered on Sunday during a routine check of the school compound. He was found suffering from a gunshot wound to the head and clutching a Glock 19 pistol.
While speaking to The Gleaner on Monday afternoon, Barrett said that their family is devastated as they are now left with so many unanswered questions. She explained that Nicholson, a shopkeeper, worked at the nearby school as a security guard up until 2020. She further shared that their two young daughters, seven and 11 years old, are students at the school.
Their mother noted that “they’re not taking it well” and they never went to school yesterday.
Meanwhile, Barrett said she is still unclear as to why Nicholson was on the school compound in the night.
“I don’t know what he was doing over there, to be honest, because he doesn’t normally go over there unless he is bringing the kids to school. He doesn’t go there after hours. He would normally be in the community with his friends at the bar.”
When asked if Nicholson had previously expressed suicidal thoughts, Barrett responded in the affirmative.
“He made hints of that before. A couple of weeks ago, after Easter break, he was missing for a day. It wasn’t a full 24 hours, but he did say that he wasn’t going to come back home. Some of my friends spoke to him and I asked his friends to search for him. He came back home after 10 in the night,” Barrett shared.
However, the grieving woman told The Gleaner that she was not expecting him to go through with the act.
“I didn’t expect him to go through with anything at all. Even when he hinted at it, I thought he was just saying that he needs help and doesn’t know where to go. I went as far as to run up and down to the banks and missed work a couple of days to try and help him see what he could get done. So, this is a shock to me.”
During their last conversation on Saturday morning, Barrett said her partner had expressed that he would have skipped a loved one’s birthday celebration to “clear his head”.
While offering her support, she reportedly told him, “Clear your head and when I get back, we will talk about whatever it is.”
“When I came back, I texted him on WhatsApp and told him that I am home. The message had two ticks, but he didn’t reply. I sent another message to him, and I asked, ‘Where are you?’ and then I asked if he was okay, but he wasn’t responding to me.
“I went to the shop to check off the money and I sent him a message to say that the shop barely made any money today, but still no reply.”
After recognising that Nicholson did not return home on Saturday night, Barrett shared that she was heading to the Freeport Police Station to report him missing on Sunday afternoon, but the police showed up before she had the chance to leave.
“They explained that Andre is no longer with us. I was shocked and I [asked] them if it was a joke. They wanted me to come and identify the body and they wanted to do some checks at my house as well for FLA (Firearm Licensing Authority) licence.”
The police say the weapon retrieved from the scene was neither registered to Nicholson nor recognised in the FLA’s database.
It is being alleged that Nicholson was experiencing financial struggles which became too much to bear. However, Barrett told The Gleaner that she has only learned of this since his passing.
“That’s what persons are saying and it’s a shock to me because I don’t know the depth of the financial issues. Because since his death, persons are saying a lot of things. It’s like we live at the house, and I am a complete stranger because I don’t know any of these things.”