Livern Barrett, Sunday Gleaner Writer

Fearing that his younger brother’s murderous rampage in the quiet community of Three Hills, St Mary, last Thursday has driven a wedge between two closely knit families, Simeon Llewellyn reached out to his in-laws yesterday in a heart-rending attempt to start the healing process.

“We wish we could console them (relatives of the Brown family) in some way,” offered Simeon, who acted as the spokesman for some members of the Llewellyn family in their first public comments since the shocking multiple murder-suicide.

“We still consider ourselves to be your friend. We are really hoping that you can find some solace in the fact that it is not us against you, it was just something that happened at the spur of the moment and we don’t know what we could have done to prevent it,” he added when asked what he wanted to say to the Brown family.

warm moments

Simeon Llewellyn recounted some of the warm moments shared between both families during his brother’s 13-year marriage, but said some members of his family are struggling to find a way to approach their in-laws to help them cope with their loss and are considering asking their respective pastors for help.

The hesitance, he explained, is caused by the backlash from the community towards the family and, in particular, his brother.

“We would love to tell them that we are just as hurt as they are about their loss. We really, really, really, really are very upset and hurt and we feel itfor them. God knows we feel it for them, but we don’t know what to do,” said Simeon.

Police investigators believe Corporal Llewellyn sneaked in the home of his estranged wife’s parents and unleashed a barrage of bullets. The shooting ended when Llewellyn put a bullet into his head, but not before he had killed his mother-in-law, Rachel Brown, 79, her husband Voldy Brown, 73, his brother-in-law, Fitzroy Townsend, and his 16 year-old stepdaughter Jorjhan Flynn.

His wife Joan, who was also critically injured in the attack, remained hospitalised yesterday in serious condition.

Simeon painted a picture of his brother as someone who was well-liked by his family, his in-laws and his colleagues because he was very affectionate, gentle and loving. However, his one vice, according to Simeon, was that he wanted to be right all the time.

“I think this is where his problem was … he wanted everything to go right all the while. He did not like grays. It’s either black or white. It’s either right or wrong,” Simeon explained.

This, he indicated, was at the centre of Wayne Llewellyn’s marital problems as he and his wife would disagree over attempts to discipline Flynn.

all very close

Corporal Llewellyn has three children from previous relationships. When contacted yesterday, one of them, whose name is being withheld, described the incident as “very sad”, but he declined to comment further.

“She is my stepmother and the family, they were all very close to me because they have been in my life for 13 years, so there is nothing to say,” he said.

When asked about his father’s actions, he simply replied: “What can I say about my father?”

Simeon Llewellyn said he knew his brother was having marital problems, but insisted that “nobody saw this coming” and that his action, which the family is not condoning, has left them searching for answers.

“We wish he could have resolved it another way. We couldn’t agree with what he did, but what we don’t know is why it happened, and we cannot understand why he would have done something like that,” he said.

“Some people can’t even talk about it. Some people are still in shock and some people are totally confused,” he said.

Wayne Llewellyn was born and raised in Manchester as the fourth of five brothers and eight sisters between his parents. He attended Manchester High School and was a member of the Ocho Rios Seventh-day Adventist Church, in St Ann.