Port Kaituma murder/suicide victims buried

Residents of Port Kaituma yesterday turned out in large numbers for the funerals of Pamela Martin and Victor Pires, who died in the Easter Monday murder/suicide in the community.

The funeral service was held at the home of the deceased couple and they were buried at the Oronoque Burial Ground. A resident who attended the funeral said persons were not able to view Pires’s body because they were told his face was too badly disfigured as a result of the gunshot wound he inflicted on himself.

Around 4.20 am on Monday, Pires, 62, and Martin, 39, got into a heated argument at their home during which she was physically assaulted by Pires and he subsequently shot her twice before taking his own life.

The couple’s four children, who are between the ages of five and 16, were in the house at the time.

It was also revealed by Martin’s sister, Christine Martin, that the dead woman was four months’ pregnant at the time of her death and Christine believed that her sister’s pregnancy, which was the result of an extramarital relationship, was what led Pires to take both of their lives.

The children are currently in the care of Martin’s sister and the family is working out concrete arrangements for the children’s permanent stay.