Papilto Wallace reminisces on the life of his brother, Pastor Paul Wallace, who was allegedly shot and killed by a poilceman in Auldyar, Westmoreland. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

PAPILTO WALLACE has not eaten properly or slept well for more than one week - not since he got the news that his younger brother, ordained minister Paul Wallace, was shot and killed.

"A pure drink mi haffi try drink, 'cause mi get the food but cyaan eat it, the food cyaan pass mi throat," Wallace told The Sunday Gleaner during an interview at his home in Auldyar, Westmoreland.

"A TV keep mi company a night time 'cause mi mind cyaan settle, mi cyaan stop think bout it," he added.

Wallace said the single blood-stained shoe left in the bushes after it fell from his brother's foot is a constant reminder of the "dis-honourable death" which the man of the cloth suffered.

"It mek mi angry because mi bredda shouldn't go so. Him nuh deserve fi dead like that, like him a criminal," Wallace said.

firewood

Pastor Leshia Lawrence (left), Missionary Catherine Boothe (centre) and Evangelist Donna Lawrence of the Whitehouse Church of Jesus Christ say the church family is finding it hard to cope with the untimely death of their beloved pastor. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

His 42-year-old brother, who was pastor of the Mearnsville Church of Jesus Christ, was shot and killed, allegedly by a member of the police force who lives in the community.

Residents claim the pastor had run out of cooking gas the night before and went on land owned by the family of the policeman's wife to gather firewood to prepare breakfast, a common practice in the rural district.

A man who heard the gunfire that fateful morning recounted to The Sunday Gleaner what he heard.

"I was inside about 6 a.m. when I hear two shots fire. Then I hear somebody bawl out 'Murder, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus', and then mi hear three more shots after that," he said.

The resident went to the area where he heard the explosions and found Pastor Wallace's body.

According to accounts by family members, based on the post-mortem report, Pastor Wallace was shot four times, in the abdomen, chest, left thumb and right arm. The autopsy showed that the fatal shot, however, was the one to his chest which ruptured both lungs.

The Savanna-lar-Mar police have so far revealed very little on the progress of their investigation. Detective Sergeant Eton Miller, who led the first stage of the inquiry, said the matter has been turned over to the Bureau of Special Investigations.

good progress

When contacted, Assistant Commissioner of Police Granville Gause, BSI head, said the inves-tigation has been progressing well.

He said the policeman implicated in the fatal shooting has been relieved of the weapon, which has been sent to the forensic lab for testing.

ACP Gause said the inves-tigation is being conducted in consultation with the Department of Public Prosecutions.

However, Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewelyn told The Sunday Gleaner that she could not comment on the case until after the investigation has been completed.

But as the wheels of justice turn, residents of Auldyar continue to mourn a father and a spiritual guide.

They say for years they have been going on to the land without protest from its former owner. However, since his death, his surviving relatives have become unwelcoming of community members.

"From mi a pickney mi a go pon that land deh go tie out goat and shell pimento," said Veronica Myrie, a neighbour of the slain pastor. "Is over deh most a wi go catch wata and cut wood fi mek fire, Pastor nuh deserve fi dead fi dat."

When The Sunday Gleaner visited the expanse of land, which is overgrown by bushes, it was under police protection.

The policemen said they were there based on instructions to guard the premises, and that they could not allow the news team on the property.

Members of the community have mounted at least three protests since the pastor's death, calling for justice.

"Pastor Wallace was a good man. A him pray fi mi and heal mi when mi sick and couldn't move," Barbara Glifford told The Sunday Gleaner. "A lot of the children in the community a fi him church dem christen, him a no criminal, him a nuh troublemaker, is wickedness fi murder a man like that in cold blood," she said.

devout Christian

They said Pastor Wallace was a devout Christian for more than 25 years and an ordained minister since 2004.

"He was a very dedicated child of God, who was both respected and respectful," said Pastor Leshia Lawrence of the Whitehouse Church of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Lawrence said she has worked closely with Pastor Wallace for years, as both congregations often have combined services.

She said the pastor's death has left a blanket of grief and sadness over the entire church community and many are finding it hard to cope with the loss, especially the way it happened.

"We are all in a state of shock, it's unbelievable that a man of God could go that way."

athaliah.reynolds@gleanerjm.com