The shocked St. David's community is today staging an emotional memorial cricket match for the devastated families of murder victims Maxwell Brangman and Freddie Gilbert.

Today's charity game will be followed by a wake for Mr. Brangman, whose funeral takes place this afternoon.

It is being seen as a chance for the usually quiet St. David's community to unite after a week which began with what seemed like a tragic accidental fire but ended in a double murder investigation.

Both homeless men were stabbed to death last weekend, with Mr. Brangman's body then set on fire in a hut behind the Black Horse Tavern and Mr. Gilbert's dumped in the sea nearby. Nobody has been arrested yet.

Aaron Lugo, president of St. David's Cricket Club, where Mr. Brangman used to help out, told The Royal Gazette: "It's the last match of the year and we wanted to do something for the families.

"People were upset anyway, but because of what we now know there is uproar.

"Freddie was a good guy — just from seeing him on the roadside you could see that. I saw Maxwell every day. I am a postman and he would help me out and talk to me.

"We don't know what happened. People are saying they must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time or saw something they shouldn't have."

The game, which starts at 11 a.m., will be between St. David's commercial team and the seniors' team.

On Thursday, Police said they were keen to find out about disturbances at parties in St. George's bars on Saturday night, hours before the pair were killed.

Yesterday, Mr. Brangman's only daughter Sereana Brangman — who is currently pregnant with what would have been the murder victim's third grandchild — said: "I'm still amazed that this happened. He didn't harm anybody. My daddy didn't harm anybody.

"From what people are saying, there was a party going on. I can see my daddy stopping a fight from happening."

Reaction continues to come in from St. David's and across the Island.

Newly-appointed chairman of Clergy Against Crime Pastor Damon Hendrickson, who comes from St. David's, said: "It's tragic. My heart goes out to the families and the community of St. David's as well.

"I hope and pray the community gives room to the Police to do their important job."

Premier Ewart Brown said: "I express condolences to the families of the people killed. I don't comment on Police investigations. I just hope that this is not another example that grows out of some of the other anti-social behaviour that we have seen."

St. David's Progressive Labour Party MP Lovitta Foggo said: "Many of my constituents are alarmed, particularly because these two men were harmless and never caused any trouble whatsoever. This type of behaviour is very much out of the norm for St. David's.

"We are upset, and I think a lot of people are outraged. Members of the community just don't know how to deal with this new sort of element in St. David's.

"Canvassing the area over the past few months, people have voiced their concerns to me about an increase in crime, but something like this is very disconcerting for people. It takes away from what was the norm in St. David's, which was a very communal type of environment.

"We have a real sense of village camaraderie here and so this is something they see as a new component and not in keeping with the typical friendliness and community spirit indicative of St. David's. There is a great deal of concern."

One concerned resident told this newspaper there was a lot of drug and violent activity at St. David's Battery.

Another said: "People are fearing for their lives up there, they have pit bulls in the trees and the cops have drug busts more that once a week."

Dennis Lamb of the restaurant Dennis's Hideaway said: "It's a shock to everybody. This is a very unusual thing to happen here. It is terrible."

Mr. Brangman's funeral takes place at the Chapel of Ease Anglican Church, at 1 p.m.