The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

POLICE suspect toxic fumes from a generator killed a married couple and left their infant granddaughter in critical condition yesterday morning.

All three were found unresponsive by neighbours, who forced their way into the Butler Street home in Nassau Village sometime after 8am.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean said the infant exhibited “little signs of vital life” at the time of the discovery.

Neighbours identified the deceased as Brady and Princess Simms, area residents since the late 1980s.

While an autopsy will have to confirm the cause of death, ACP Dean said it is possible that the use of a generator that was found attached to the house, and left running overnight, may have “contributed” to their deaths. He noted that the house was experiencing “technical issues so there was no electricity at the time”.

“We’re in the preliminary stages of our investigations,” he said. “Once we’re able to get some further information we’ll be able to reveal that information. But we want to still use this opportunity for persons who might have apparatus, make sure get professionals to connect instruments to your house, make sure they’re in secure locations, and try and keep them away from your homes, particularly generators.

“And so we ask you to get professional advice and seek professional advice if you’re going to connect these things to your house,” he said. 

Mr Simms was attached to the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) as a reserve officer at the time of his death, according to ACP Dean. The Tribune understands that his wife was an employee at the Ministry of Tourism. 

Mr Dean said neighbours had to “force” entry into the home after getting no response from the deceased, leading to the discovery and the notification of the authorities. 

All three were subsequently taken to hospital, ACP Dean said, where police later confirmed that the couple had already passed away.

Mr Dean said the death of Mr Simms and his wife made for a “sorrowful time” throughout the RBPF. 

“The adult male we can confirm is attached to the RBPF as a reserve officer, who spent his lifetime as a police officer, came back and gave service to the country,” he said. 

“This is a hard moment because one of their sons is a police officer attached to the Royal Bahamas Police Force and it’s not easy for him. So on behalf of the Commissioner, the senior executive management team of the RBPF and the Minister of National Security, we want to give our condolences and this time we will be behind the family, because they are dear to us, they are a part of us, so we will be behind the family.”

Two women, who both claimed to have known the deceased couple since 1987, said the Simms were both “really humble, nice people”.

“You don’t even know they live in this neighbourhood,” said one woman. “When you see them they hail you, very humble people. No trouble people at all.” 

Another woman said: “They wasn’t no problem to nobody. You see them getting ready, going to work, coming from work, going home, hailing you saying ‘How you doing’, ‘What you saying’, ‘Where you going’. Never a problem.”

Yesterday, Bahamas Power and Light noted that there were several outages on Wednesday evening that were caused by adverse weather conditions, and in one instance a traffic accident. However, the company said it did not have any record of outages in the Nassau Village community in the past 24 hours.

In a statement, BPL Communications Manager Arnette Ingraham said: “While this event is certainly a tragedy, we continue to advise residents with generators to ensure that they are being used properly in the absence of supply by BEC/BPL.”