Petit Valley man kills relative over cheating suspicion

Rumours of infidelity ended in bloodshed on Sunday afternoon when a 31-year-old Petit Valley man was shot dead at his home.

Newsday understands Ricardo "Fours" Ottley was at his Simeon Road home tending to house plants when he was confronted by a relative over rumours that the relative's girlfriend was cheating on him with Ottley.

Ottley was shot dead by the relative who ran away.

Residents heard the gunshots and called the police who visited the scene with a district medical officer who declared Ottley dead.

Speaking with Newsday at the Forensic Science Centre, St James on Monday, Ottley's brother Kent Douglas confirmed there was some tension between his brother and the relative after rumours began circulating that the girlfriend was having an affair.

Douglas said he spoke with Ottley shortly before his death about the situation and warned him to try and resolve the issue peacefully with the relative.

"I went out to the grocery to get something before the place locked up, so probably around 5.15 pm I spoke to Ricardo about the rumours. But he said the relative was only accusing him and none of it was true, but I still warned them to overs that.

"By the time I left him and walked out the road, I got a call from a relative telling me to come back home now, that Ricardo was shot.

"When I got there I saw him bleeding and I tried calling out to him but that was it."

He said he was told the suspect tried to confront the girlfriend but was blocked by his sister.

"If she didn't block him, he would have killed her (the girlfriend) too."

Douglas said Ottley was in a relationship of his own and, despite the rumours had no intention of having any dealings with the relative's girlfriend.

He said the incident was troubling to him and the family and called on the relative to turn himself in.

"Whatever you did it already happened. It's better you turn yourself in. If you don't turn yourself in it will get more serious as time goes by.

"The police knows you're out there with a weapon, so if they confront you they will be using caution. So don't make it worse for yourself."

Douglas also called on people who have problems with their relatives to resolve their differences without violence.

"You can't resolve your problems with guns and knives.

"Pull each other aside and speak in a corner if need be to try and work it out. Even if you have to fight it out, do that. But don't let it get to the point where someone pulls a weapon on each other."

Douglas said he remembered his brother as a quiet, easygoing person who did not interfere with anyone and usually kept to himself and tended to his plants.