The wife of one of the two US missionaries found dead in Jamaica last weekend has said she does not want the men's deaths to reflect badly on the country.
The bodies of Harold Nichols and Randy Hentzel were found bearing marks of violence in the Albion Mountain region. They had left on a motorcycle on Saturday morning. The motive for the killings remains a mystery and so far police have failed to find evidence of who might have been responsible.
Teri Nichols told CNN affiliate WKBW-TV in New York: "I don't ever want anything portrayed that Jamaica is a terrible place. I know this is a tragedy, but tragedies happen everywhere. They've been really good to us."
She said her husband's death would affect many Jamaicans. "It's a huge loss, not just to me, but [to] so many children and so many elderly people who count on him to visit and get them to hospitals, to get them medicine, to get them all those things that they're not able to do and that's what he did around the clock," she said.
"He didn't know 'no'. He didn't know the word 'no.'"
Randy Hentzel is survived by his wife Sara and five children. She was at their home in Iowa at the time of his death. Their pastor Todd Stiles, minister of the First Family church which Hentzel co-founded, told Baptist Press: "We are praying for right biblical justice, but we're also praying for gospel expansion... Randy paid with his life in the country he loved and was trying to help them train up pastors and plant churches. We're praying that God will use his blood as a seed for the gospel to go even to greater lengths in that country."
Stiles said that if Hentzel were still living, "he would say, 'If giving my life would be a way to further God's Kingdom [with] more churches, more souls saved... then count me in.' He wouldn't worry about the risk. That's just the kind of guy he was."
Jamaica's prime minister Andrew Holness told families of the men: "I know the entire Jamaica mourns with you, and I stand here on their behalf to express their deep sympathies and sadness." Acknowledging that "No words can give any comfort to the loss of a loved one, especially under such tragic circumstances," he paid tribute to "the strength that you have displayed and the true Christian spirit of forgiveness".
A statement from the The Jamaican Constabulary Force said it was "doing everything possible to identify the criminals responsible for these brutal acts". It added: "We are profoundly saddened by this senseless act of violence and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these victims who tirelessly devoted their lives to assisting those in need here in Jamaica."
