Woman wards off gunmen and escapes

The six-year-old granddaughter of famous West Indies captain Jeffrey  Stollmeyer hid under a car and looked on in horror as two well-armed kidnappers attempted to drag her screaming mother Tessa Stollmeyer, to a heavily tinted car parked outside their Beachwood Drive, Goodwood Gardens, Westmoorings home on Tuesday night.

The child Adella Stollmeyer, had minutes before alighted from her mother’s white Bora car in company with her 14-year-old brother when the gunmen ambushed Tessa Stollmeyer. Tessa, 47, was getting out of her car in the garage of her home around 8.30 pm, when the two kidnappers pounced on her. As the kidnappers were lifting her to a waiting car, Tessa began screaming and fought with the two men whose pump action shotguns were visible. In the struggle, one of the guns was fired which alerted her neighbours. Her 14-year-old son seized the opportunity to run inside his home where he dialled 999. The two kidnappers who realised that they were now under the watchful eyes of Tessa’s neighbours let go of her and ran towards the getaway vehicle. Within minutes, police officers were on the scene and neighbours ran to the assistance of the family.

Officers of the Anti Kidnapping Squad were also alerted and they went to the house, where they interviewed the mother of two. Police officers believe that the two kidnappers had been hiding in  Stollmeyer’s yard before they made their move. The traumatised woman told police officers that after being snatched she thought about the safety of her two children, but at the same time decided to try escaping from the kidnappers. She also revealed that she used all her strength to ward off the two men, and screamed at the top of her voice to alert neighbours. She believes that if the gun was not fired the kidnappers would have succeeded in placing her into the waiting car. Tessa Stollmeyer spent all of yesterday inside her home with her husband Donald, brother Claude Banfield, six-year-old daughter Adella and 14-year-old son.

Donald, who is manager of Power Boats and son of the late Jeffrey Stollmeyer told Newsday that his wife is “very, very traumatised,” but he is relieved that she is safe at home. He commended her bravery which which enabled her to avoid the kidnapping. Donald pointed out that he had never considered putting added security at his home before but with the attempted kidnapping of his wife he will now be considering that move. He said that his neighbours will soon be meeting to discuss how added security could be put in place in their area. One of the options open to them, he said, is to have a gated community. Jeffrey Stollmeyer was himself shot and beaten during a hold-up at his Fort George home in the 1980s. He died about a month later from  injuries he received during the hold-up.

When Newsday visited the scene of the attempted kidnapping, Claude Banfield, Tessa’s brother said that his sister was unavailable to be interviewed because she was still in a state of shock over the incident. He said that he and other members of his family are relieved that Tessa is safe. “If Tessa was not lucky, we would be sitting at home now awaiting word from kidnappers,” he said. Police investigators told Newsday that the clothing worn by Tessa at the time, as well as her car and the entrances to her home will be tested for prints. A police sketch artist is expected to interview her shortly so that sketches of the suspects can be drawn up to assist the police in identifying the men.