By Gareth Davis, Gleaner WriterST. MARY:
UNABLE TO face an impending divorce, Donna Goffe-Walter is alleged to have shot and killed her husband, Neville Walter, a building contractor before taking her own life Thursday at the family home in Boscobel Heights, St. Mary.
Andre Grant, son of the deceased woman, upon hearing three explosions, found his mother lying on her back on a bed, suffering from a gunshot wound to the left side of her head. A .38 Smith and Wesson revolver was found beside her.
"The son claimed to have heard three explosions," said Constable Alford Stoddart, the St. Mary liaison officer for the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN), the police's information arm.
GRUESOME DISCOVERY
"He rushed to the couple's bedroom and found the door locked from inside. It was forced open and it was then he made the gruesome discovery as his stepfather, too, was suffering from gunshot wounds to the right side of the face and the left arm pit."
Constable Stoddart said the couple was reportedly having marital problems and were involved in verbal clashes days before.
The handgun, a licensed firearm, belonged to Mrs. Goffe-Walter.
The CCN liaison officer said the crime appears to be a murder-suicide and that notes written by Mrs. Walter were also found in the bedroom. A date for a post-mortem on both bodies is yet to be set.
In the meantime, Leslie Walter, brother of the deceased man, told The Gleaner Thursday that his brother had indicated that he and his wife were having marital difficulties. He said that after almost two years of marriage, his brother had indicated to him that he was willing to call it quits and that he was on the verge of filing for a divorce.
MARITAL DIFFICULTY
"Yes, they had marital difficulty, but nothing of this magnitude was ever deemed remotely possible," Leslie said. "I knew his wife, but not as a friend, and I was led to believe that they got along well, despite the many glitches."
One neighbour, who gave her name as 'Miss Clarice', also told The Gleaner that it was the most loving and caring couple that she had known. She said Mrs. Goffe-Walter had always boasted about her husband, saying passionate things about him.
"I can't believe what has taken place. To me, it's a nightmare," she said.
