A Winnipeg woman says she’s still in shock after learning that her parents were found dead inside their home in Jamaica this week.
Canadians Melbourne Flake, 81, and his wife Etta Flake, 70, were discovered in the home in St. Thomas, a parish on the island’s eastern tip on Tuesday. The couple lived in Winnipeg for 53 years after immigrating to Canada from Jamaica, according to their family.
Jamaican police confirmed they’re investigating the deaths as murder.
Debbie Olfert, the couple’s daughter, told CTV Winnipeg that her parents were vacationing at their home in Jamaica when they were killed during a robbery. She said she’s coming to terms with the news of their deaths.
“It’s surreal,” Olfert said on Tuesday. “I don’t want to catch myself living what they must have felt, what they must have gone through. In my head I just keep [thinking about] how frightened they must have been, how terrifying.”
Police said construction workers found the seniors’ bodies on Tuesday after they repeatedly tried to contact them. They were rushed to hospital where they were pronounced dead. A family member in Jamaica identified the bodies.
The cause of death is still under investigation.
With files from CTV Winnipeg
