October 13, 2012
Man and Woman Fatally Shot at Bronx Motel
By COLIN MOYNIHAN and NATE SCHWEBER
A gunman approached a man and a woman outside a Bronx motel early Saturday, then fatally shot both of them before fleeing, the police and witnesses said.
The authorities said that Wayne Hamilton, 50, a reggae musician from Milwaukee, and Tracy Bennett, 38, from Long Island, were dead when the police arrived. As of Saturday evening, no suspect had been arrested, the police said.
The police did not speculate about a motive and did not indicate whether Mr. Hamilton and Ms. Bennett were acquainted.
Natchelous Demus, 37, a reggae musician who said he had been friends with Mr. Hamilton for 20 years, said that Ms. Bennett and Mr. Hamilton had been companions.
Mr. Demus said that Mr. Hamilton had called him late Friday night to say that he was in New York. They talked about an upcoming performance in Bridgeport, Conn. Mr. Hamilton told him that he would call back to make plans for a rendezvous, but he never did.
“He was a very joyful dude,” Mr. Demus said of Mr. Hamilton, whose stage name was Captain Barkey. He joked a lot and made you “feel like you’re welcome all the time.”
Oneil Taylor, an acquaintance of Mr. Hamilton, said he saw the musician playing dominoes Friday night at Memories Lounge, a club on Gun Hill Road. Mr. Taylor said that Mr. Hamilton was with a woman in a low-cut black top, black pants and a “nice hairdo.” He said he saw them leave the club together and drive away in a white sedan.
The killing occurred at the Holiday Motel, a two-story building next to the New England Thruway, in a lightly populated pocket of the borough close to the Westchester County border and a few blocks from the last stop on the No. 5 subway line.
A sign in the lobby advertises $40 rates for three-hour stays. Another sign reminds patrons that prostitution, drug use and loitering are prohibited.
Keshia Barrett, 36, who said she was staying at the motel on Friday with her boyfriend, said she was awoken by a pair of gunshots and a woman’s screams.
“I heard the lady screaming and it sounded like she said, ‘Please!’ or ‘No!’” Ms. Barrett said. “It was a begging for the life.”
Then she said she heard a second burst of gunfire.
A police official said that Ms. Bennett’s body was found lying next to a car that was idling in the parking lot of the motel. Mr. Hamilton’s body was found some distance away by the motel entrance.
Augustine Mawugbe, 45, a mechanic, said he got out of bed and peered through a window when he heard gunfire. He said he saw a tall man in a brown shirt carrying a pistol in his right hand. The man quickly got into a green or silver sedan with New York license plates and sped off.
“He drove fast,” Mr. Mawugbe said. “I was shaking.”
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/13/man-and-woman-fatally-shot-at-bronx-motel/?hp