Four slain in Mtn View

Rudolph Brown
Residents watch as morgue attendants from Madden's Funeral Home remove the body of Veta Smith, one of four persons shot dead at 63 Mountain View Avenue when gunmen invaded the community early yesterday morning.

By Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter

FOUR PEOPLE ranging in age from 17 to 40 years, were brutally murdered in the early hours of yesterday morning as a group of men invaded their Mountain View Avenue home in Kingston, shooting them between five and 21 times.

It was a grim scene later in the morning as forensic experts and homicide detectives picked their way through the crime scene at 63 Mountain View Avenue, collecting among other things, 57 assorted spent shells fired from AK-47 and M-16 rifles, 9-mm and .45 semi automatic handguns.

The victims were: Pauline Bennett, 40, whose body was mutilated by 21 bullets; Shawn Brown, 30, shot nine times; his girlfriend Veta Smith, 26, was shot 10 times; and Oneil Pryce, 17, shot five times. A dog was also killed during the attack.

Police theorise that the killings were reprisals for other murders in the area where a total of six persons have been killed since Sunday.

In yesterday's incident, it's reported that scores of men invaded the Mountain View community, which is a stronghold of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), looting homes and using red paint to write slogans endorsing the People's National Party (PNP) on the walls.

It is reported that the men struck just before 1:00 a.m., kicking down the door leading to Bennett's house. Her mother who was in another room, heard the noise and quickly hid under a bed.

Pauline's 74-year-old father, Harper, who is blind and bed-ridden, listened helplessly while his daughter begged for her life, but the gunmen showed no mercy.

Yesterday's deaths brought the total murder figures for the year to 730, according to the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN).

Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) caretaker for the South East Constituency, Phillip Henriques, has linked yesterday's killings to that of 39-year-old Sandra Thompson, otherwise called 'Diane', who was gunned down on Monday along Jacques Crescent.

There are several versions relating to her death. It is alleged that she had been accused of switching allegiance to the People's National Party (PNP) and was killed by JLP gunmen. Another version is that she had leaked information to the police and was branded an informer. She was also alleged to have been collecting money from the PNP on behalf of herself and others in the area.

But Mr. Henriques insisted that she was still closely with the JLP. "She was one of my polling division supervisors and Shawn was also one of my indoor agents," he said.

Police said the gunmen stole television and component sets from Bennett's home, then proceeded down a narrow dirt track, 40 metres away, where they smashed in the front window of Brown's house.

A white refrigerator near the kitchen cupboard was stained with blood in the section of the house where the couple was killed.

Another large pool was also seen on the veranda. Residents said this was where Brown was killed, while Smith was gunned down inside the house. Informed sources said Pryce was spotted in an open area by the gunmen and sprayed with bullets.

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