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Widow says cop who witnessed her husband's murder didn't help
BY PAUL HENRY Observer staff reporter henryp@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, March 22, 2010
AS if the murder of her husband was not enough of a burden to bear, Palicia McCrae is further saddled with grief after being informed that the killers could have been caught by now had an off-duty police officer on the scene reached for a pen or even his cellphone.
McCrae's husband Oliver Leroy McCrae, a 35-year-old salesman with Jamaica Beverages Limited, was on Friday, March 12 killed by gunmen in the vicinity of Tools Hardware in Three Miles -- several metres from the Hunts Bay Police Station and in the presence of a horde of witnesses.
Oliver Leroy McCrae a salesman with Jamaica Beverages Limited, was shot and killed by gunmen in the vicinity of the Hunts Bay Police Station on March 12.
Oliver Leroy McCrae a salesman with Jamaica Beverages Limited, was shot and killed by gunmen in the vicinity of the Hunts Bay Police Station on March 12.
A motive for the killing was not clear, but Mr McCrae's wallet appeared to be rifled through by his killers.
A teary-eyed Mrs McCrae, who is now left alone to support five children, told the Observer last week that she had been informed that an off-duty police officer witnessed one of her husband's killers entering a vehicle -- with gun in hand -- but didn't as much as write down the licence plate number of the car or make a call to his colleagues at the nearby Hunts Bay Police Station.
Neither did the cop, it was reported to McCrae, act as her husband lay on the ground pleading for help to be taken to the hospital, moments before succumbing to his injuries on the spot.
The cop's reported reason for not acting was that he was off duty. (if this statement is true, then God haffi dig deep to help us!)
"To think that he [the off-duty cop] did not even assist him in going to the hospital, maybe he could have been saved," said McCrae, her voice laced with sorrow. "He couldn't even write down the licence plate number."
McCrae said assurance had been given by other police officers that the matter regarding the reported off-duty cop would be investigated.
But over the weekend, Delroy Hewitt, the superintendent in charge of the Hunt's Bay Police Station, told the Observer he was not aware of any such situation in relation to an off-duty officer.
Hewitt said he would have to "look into" the matter.
In the meanwhile, life for McCrae and her five children -- ages between one and 17 years old -- have not been the same since that fateful day.
The entire household is battling depression and the 15-year-old daughter now has only one thing on her mind -- revenge.
"He was a good father. The persons who killed my stepfather their day will come. I change my mind now, I don't want to be a doctor anymore. I want to become a police because if dem [the killers] not dead a me ago tek dem out," the teen said during the Observer's visit to their home in St Andrew.
McCrae said the younger children constantly ask for their father. The couple's one-year-old son is only calmed when McCrae allows him to speak to the men who call her to offer words of comfort. The child is under the impression that the callers are his father. The children's schools will be assisting with counselling, said McCrae.
For her part, McCrae has seldom slept since the incident and admits that she still looks forward to that call from her husband to say he's on his way home as was his custom each evening.
The McCraes would have celebrated their third wedding anniversary next month.
But McCrae has one burning question for her husband's killers: "Why? Why did you kill my husband and take him away from his children? He's a good man and I just want to know why."
BY PAUL HENRY Observer staff reporter henryp@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, March 22, 2010
AS if the murder of her husband was not enough of a burden to bear, Palicia McCrae is further saddled with grief after being informed that the killers could have been caught by now had an off-duty police officer on the scene reached for a pen or even his cellphone.
McCrae's husband Oliver Leroy McCrae, a 35-year-old salesman with Jamaica Beverages Limited, was on Friday, March 12 killed by gunmen in the vicinity of Tools Hardware in Three Miles -- several metres from the Hunts Bay Police Station and in the presence of a horde of witnesses.
Oliver Leroy McCrae a salesman with Jamaica Beverages Limited, was shot and killed by gunmen in the vicinity of the Hunts Bay Police Station on March 12.
Oliver Leroy McCrae a salesman with Jamaica Beverages Limited, was shot and killed by gunmen in the vicinity of the Hunts Bay Police Station on March 12.A motive for the killing was not clear, but Mr McCrae's wallet appeared to be rifled through by his killers.
A teary-eyed Mrs McCrae, who is now left alone to support five children, told the Observer last week that she had been informed that an off-duty police officer witnessed one of her husband's killers entering a vehicle -- with gun in hand -- but didn't as much as write down the licence plate number of the car or make a call to his colleagues at the nearby Hunts Bay Police Station.
Neither did the cop, it was reported to McCrae, act as her husband lay on the ground pleading for help to be taken to the hospital, moments before succumbing to his injuries on the spot.
The cop's reported reason for not acting was that he was off duty. (if this statement is true, then God haffi dig deep to help us!)
"To think that he [the off-duty cop] did not even assist him in going to the hospital, maybe he could have been saved," said McCrae, her voice laced with sorrow. "He couldn't even write down the licence plate number."
McCrae said assurance had been given by other police officers that the matter regarding the reported off-duty cop would be investigated.
But over the weekend, Delroy Hewitt, the superintendent in charge of the Hunt's Bay Police Station, told the Observer he was not aware of any such situation in relation to an off-duty officer.
Hewitt said he would have to "look into" the matter.
In the meanwhile, life for McCrae and her five children -- ages between one and 17 years old -- have not been the same since that fateful day.
The entire household is battling depression and the 15-year-old daughter now has only one thing on her mind -- revenge.
"He was a good father. The persons who killed my stepfather their day will come. I change my mind now, I don't want to be a doctor anymore. I want to become a police because if dem [the killers] not dead a me ago tek dem out," the teen said during the Observer's visit to their home in St Andrew.
McCrae said the younger children constantly ask for their father. The couple's one-year-old son is only calmed when McCrae allows him to speak to the men who call her to offer words of comfort. The child is under the impression that the callers are his father. The children's schools will be assisting with counselling, said McCrae.
For her part, McCrae has seldom slept since the incident and admits that she still looks forward to that call from her husband to say he's on his way home as was his custom each evening.
The McCraes would have celebrated their third wedding anniversary next month.
But McCrae has one burning question for her husband's killers: "Why? Why did you kill my husband and take him away from his children? He's a good man and I just want to know why."
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