Family devastated | Couple worked hard before deadly retirement
June 25, 2018The children of the two returning residents murdered in Jamaica this month said they are ‘completely devastated’ by the tragedy.
Seventy-five year-old Halford ‘Charlie’ Anderson and his 71-year-old wife Florence ‘Gayle’ Anderson were murdered on June 22 at their home in Mount Pleasant, Hope Bay, Portland.
They lived at the location after they relocated from Manchester in England about a year ago.
Mr Anderson left Jamaica in the 1950s and met his other half in the United Kingdom.
The couple’s sons, in a media release through the Foreign Office in the United Kingdom, said: “They were hardworking people, building a business with integrity and making sure we were always provided for.
“Charlie and Gayle were pillars of the community in Manchester and Jamaica, and were hugely popular and loved by many.
“They were just beginning the next chapter of their lives, retiring to Jamaica before this terrible tragedy. We are completely devastated and ask for privacy at this extremely difficult time,” the sons further said.
They stated that their parents ‘enjoyed a long and happy marriage of 55 years’. They also leave behind four grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Meanwhile, Kishore Singh who lived beside the Andersons for some 30 years in Britain, said Mr Anderson ‘was definitely proud of his roots and was looking forward to his retirement in Jamaica’.
He further said the Andersons were some of the best persons he had known, adding that Mr Anderson would often speak about the challenges he endured when he arrived in Britain.
“He’d tell me how hard it was for black people at the time. He used to go round with his wooden bucket and look around for jobs,” the former neighbour further said.
The British press is also reporting that Mrs Anderson was the victim of a credit card fraud, and that the matter was reported to the Jamaica police prior to the double murder.
The Sun newspaper reported: “A conman was said to have recently made more than 40 fraudulent purchases – totalling £50,000 ($8 million Jamaican dollars) – using her cards – which she reported to detectives in Jamaica.”
The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) previously said residents stumbled upon the bodies about 1:30pm on June 22. They were outside the house.
“Mr Anderson’s body was seen outside partially burnt and the wife’s body was also seen outside with multiple wounds. The scene was processed and the bodies removed to the morgue pending post mortem,” the JCF said.
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