Woman charged with Murder of Younger Sister

(JAMAICA OBSERVER) FALMOUTH, Trelawny — A Trelawny woman and her two daughters have been charged for the murder of her sister, 36-yearold Tamara Geddes, who was shot dead, allegedly by a contract killer, in the presence of her 10-yearold daughter at their family home in Reserve district in the parish on Friday, June 19 The three accused are: 39-year-old farmer, Nadeen Geddes and her two daughters, 21-yearold Shanice Ruddock and a juvenile, all of Reserve district, Trelawny.

The three are accused of conspiring to hire a gunman to carry out the hit on their family member.

They were picked up by the police on Tuesday at their Trelawny home, which they shared with the deceased. Police said after they were picked up they reportedly gave caution statements admitting to planning and hiring the gunman to kill Tamara Geddes.

The three accused are scheduled to make their first appearance in the Trelawny Parish Court on Wednesday, July 22.

Two other people who reside in St James but who were nabbed by the police in Westmoreland on Thursday are also expected to be charged in connection with the killing.

The two are suspected to have been engaged to establish the connection to hire the trigger man.

“We currently have five persons in custody for the murder of Tamara Geddes, 36 years old of Reserve District, Trelawny. Of the five, three have since been charged. It is expected that the other two will be charged shortly,” commander of the Trelawny Police Division, Superintendent Kirk Ricketts said.

A senior investigator said the investigation is not yet concluded as other people are being sought in relation to the matter.

It is not clear what sparked the enmity between the feuding sisters but one community member close to the family told the Jamaica Observer that the two siblings, who occupied the one-storey house, were constantly at odds.

Not long before the killing, one of them reportedly used a sharp object to damage a plastic tank belonging to the other.

According to the police, about 8:30 pm on Friday, June 19, Tamara Geddes and her daughter were inside her bedroom upstairs the family house where they lived when an intruder entered through an open door.

The intruder, who brandished a handgun, reportedly held up the woman and robbed her of cash and other valuables before shooting her after she rejected his demand for sex.

She was taken to the Falmouth Public General Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The shooter reportedly ran into nearby bushes. The 10-year-old girl was not physically harmed.

When the Observer visited the family home the following day Nadeen Geddes and other grief-stricken family members expressed shock at the gruesome killing. She said that like other family members, she was downstairs “but never heard any explosion”.

Nadeen said it was déjà vu for the family as only late last year tragedy also struck when her brother, Gregory Geddes, who was 37, was fatally stabbed during a dispute with a bartender at a bar in Martha Brae in the parish.