Tryall Heights shell-shocked - Residents say Sunday’s triple murder was worst act of terror in community

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November 24, 2020

Photo

The grieving father Chris McFarlane (centre) is a picture of despair as he receives support from police personnel.

Blood stains are still visible in the house where the sisters and their grandmother were shot by armed intruders on Sunday afternoon.

Clothes belonging to Kristina and Mishane McFarlane and other relatives hang from the line at the side of the home.

Daybreak in Tryall Heights, St Catherine, for many yesterday was like waking up from a bad dream, only to realise it was not a dream after all.

Residents went to bed in tears and fear Sunday night after three members of their community were murdered by cowards. Tryall Heights, a lower middle-income community, located about five minutes from Spanish Town, has never witnessed such horror, residents said.

"I have been living here since 1971 and never felt afraid before, but since the incident I have become afraid," a 79-year-old resident told THE STAR.

Police say six-year-old Mishane McFarlane, her sister, Kristina, 10, and their 81-year-old grandmother, Iceyln McFarlane, were murdered by the thugs who invaded their home.

The children's father, Chris, did their laundry on Sunday, hanging their clothes on the line in the yard that overlooks sections of the community.

"These children died hungry as their dinner was being prepared when they were killed," grief counsellors Dwayne and Dwight Stewart told THE STAR during a visit to the community yesterday.

The shell-shocked residents, many of whom stayed behind their gates, have been trying to come to grips with Sunday's horror. Iceyln McFarlane's old friend recalled that the last time they met, she had celebrations on her mind.

Barbaric attack

"Last week Monday she came here and showed me some purple curtain cloth to make her curtains for her birthday on December 2, but she never get to use it,'' the elderly resident said.

At a nearby shop, the proprietor said Sunday's barbaric attack is not something to which the community is accustomed.

"We are here for more than 30 years now and it is the first we are seeing a dismal Christmas. We want the place to return to what we had before," the resident said.

Another resident said: "I am feeling scared about the situation as this is the first act of wickedness here. I am really hoping that things will come back."

The police have intensified their presence in the community. Assistant Commissioner of Police Gary Griffiths, who was among members of the security forces to visit the area yesterday, said that the "sadness is very real".

"Although there was an adult -- the fact that she was 80-odd-year-old -- it is like three children. This is very sad,'' Griffith said.