The daughter of a Winnipeg couple murdered in Jamaica is working to bring the bodies of her parents back to Canada but still faces several challenges.
Debbie Olfert said she is waiting on a signature from the Coroner’s office in Jamaica to release the bodies. After that she said it will cost about $13,000 plus airfare to transport the bodies to Winnipeg.
Melbourne Flake, 81, and his wife Etta, 70, were found dead in their Saint Thomas vacation home Jan. 9.
“I do know that because they are Canadian they’re doing something about it, but if they had just been Jamaican nationals I don’t know,” said Olfert in a phone call with CTV News from Kingston Tuesday morning.
Olfert also said justice is very important to the family. She said Interpol and RCMP have offered to help with the investigation, but the Jamaican Constabulary Force has turned down the offer. CTV News reached out for more information from RCMP in Ottawa, but was told the Mounties don't comment on international investigations.
“Because I have been informed that there are some strong leads that the police are following, I am extremely encouraged. However I do understand the police department is extremely stretched, and since my parents’ murder, somewhere in that area, there was a family of three including a five-year old girl was murdered. Now, if they were already stretched trying to solve our case, what’s happening with these successive murders?” said Olfert.
“I am grateful they have these leads on my parents behalf, I’m grateful for that, but when we asked for help in the initial stages, I’m not sure why they said no, being so overwhelmed with these crimes,” said Olfert.
The Canadian government is warning travellers seeking sun in Jamaica to “exercise a high degree of caution.”
Last week Jamaican authorities imposed a military lockdown in St. James Parish on Thursday, following 335 murders in 2017, twice the tally of any other parish.
