Grief visits Harbour View amid suspected murder-suicide

Shock rippled through Dorado Drive in Harbour View, East Kingston, yesterday after the suspected murder-suicide of a well-regarded couple in the area.

The bodies of 53-year-old Morvine Thompson Palmer and her husband, 49-year-old Peat Palmer, were found lying in a pool of blood in their yard about 10:30 a.m.

According to police reports, Palmer was found clutching electrical wire, and his wife was bleeding from the neck. Both were transported to the hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

The police said investigations are ongoing into the incident which is being treated as a murder-suicide.

Responding to Gleaner queries, law enforcement confirmed that Palmer was on January 11 charged by the Harbour View police with assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to an earlier incident involving his wife.

Yesterday afternoon, as residents looked on while police removed yellow tape from the area, one woman expressed her sorrow over the horrific incident. The resident, who identified herself as a friend of Thompson Palmer, said the couple had been in the process of a divorce, with disputes centred on who would retain ownership of the house in which they lived.

According to her, Thompson Palmer had just visited the hairdresser on Sunday to get her hair done with the intention of travelling overseas on Tuesday.

DIDN’T HEED WARNINGS

“A long time wi a tell Sista Palmer seh ‘Gwaan ‘bout yuh business’, and she nah hear. Nobody nah leave, and now di two a dem now gone left it,” the resident declared.

“A di first this ever happen. Right now mi cya even sleep tonight,” she added.

The couple had reportedly been married for more than 20 years and had lived in the house for more than a decade. They had four sons.

Still in disbelief, another resident said she often passed by the house, greeting the couple who appeared to be peaceful. She said she last saw Palmer on Monday.

However, other residents say Palmer, who worked as a mason, had become withdrawn, and they noticed that he was drinking quite often.

“Sometime him siddung outside ya suh pon him phone, a him alone. Mi not even see him par wid nobody,” he said.

“We day mi see di man inna wah bar, and mi seh, ‘Unno sure him alright?’” another resident chimed in.

Thompson Palmer worked as a paralegal and was a justice of the peace. She also served the community as a deacon in the Greater Grace Apostolic Temple in Harbour View and was always encouraging others to join the church.

“Everytime she talk to mi she seh, ‘Di church door still open, eno. Mi claim yuh in the name of Jesus’. Mi a guh see yuh come baptise. Mi nah force yuh’,” the resident said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com