The Associated Press says that Guyanese Aditya Ramotar, 37, was believed to have shot his wife Sharon Forbes dead on Saturday before killing himself in the Tennessee, US town of Smyrna.
AP said that three children who were in the house at the time were unharmed. Two are the children of Ramotar and Forbes and one was a nephew.
Smyrna Police Chief Kevin Arnold said in a statement that the oldest child, an 8-year-old boy, went to a neighbour’s residence on Saturday morning and told them his parents were dead. Arnold said, according to AP, that officers have determined that Ramotar killed 34-year-old Forbes, also from Guyana, and then turned the gun on himself. The statement said that Ramotar and Forbes had divorced but were attempting to reconcile.
Arnold says the children will be handed over to family members.
Stabroek News yesterday contacted relatives of Forbes, who preferred not to be named, and was told that they did not have much detail on the apparent murder-suicide.
“The latest we heard is that she died and that the children are with her sister,” the relative stated. She explained that Forbes lived at the Tennessee home with her two sons, ages 8 and 6, but has a 15-year-old daughter living in Guyana. This child was fathered by another man.
According to the family member, Forbes left Guyana ten years ago and started a new life with Ramotar but the relationship ultimately deteriorated. “They didn’t had a nice relationship… always in and out of a fight,” the woman said.
The Daily News Journal of Tennessee said that the apparent murder-suicide has the Rosemont community in shock.
The report said that police went to Forbes’ home around 6:41 a.m., after a neighbour called police to say that an 8-year-old had come to his door holding a handgun and told him his parents were dead.
The neighbour secured the weapon and officers took it after they arrived on the scene, according to Arnold.
Arnold said detectives are still looking into what may have led Ramotar to kill his ex-wife and then himself.
“We’ve learned so far that Mr. Ramotar and Ms. Forbes were married at one point, they divorced and they were most recently in the process of reconciling,” Arnold said. “We know at this point that this event was preceded by some domestic issues”, the Daily News Journal report added.
“Our investigation so far reveals the children did not witness the violent act in the home,” Arnold added.
Several neighbours were shocked by the event, but asked that they not be identified when speaking with The Daily News Journal Saturday morning, adding they only knew the family had moved into the home about two months ago.
Neighbour Kevin Beard saw Ramotar and the kids on Friday night, NewsChannel5.com reported.
“[Ramotar] actually asked me can I move my car up a little bit because it was in the way of his truck,” Beard explained. “They seemed all happy and everything, him and the kids.”
Detectives searched the cars and removed multiple envelopes filled with evidence they hope will help them determine what went wrong, NewsChannel5.com added.
“It’s kind of sad actually and unexpected. To see somebody and talk to them and the next thing you know they’re gone,” Beard said. “And to see their kids and not know who’s going to watch them or who’s going to be there for them.”
