Dwight Benjamin Brings Ottey Sisters Toronto Murder Story To Screen

Ottey Sisters, a feature film centred on a brutal Toronto, Canada crime from 31 years ago, became available on May 29. The one-hour, 50-minute production was directed and written by Jamaican filmmaker Dwight Benjamin, who also appears in it, and is being distributed by the American pay-per-view platform Theater Giant.

The film revisits the August 1995 killings of Marsha and Tami Ottey. The sisters were murdered by Marsha’s former boyfriend, Rohan Ranger, and his cousin, Adrian Kinkead. Benjamin, now based in Los Angeles, was Tami’s boyfriend at the time of the tragedy.

In the movie, Benjamin portrays himself. Tamara Gilmore plays Tami Ottey, placing Benjamin back inside a painful chapter that has stayed with him for most of his life.

The Clarendon-born, Toronto-raised filmmaker told Observer Online that the project comes from a deeply personal place. “I started dating Tami at 14 years of age, we were both young. Her mother was a single mom but became like a mom to me as well. Ms Ottey would cook for us when I went to their house, watch movies, take us to Tami’s soccer games; it was a great relationship,” he said.

Marsha, who was 19, was three years older than Tami. Both sisters were Canadian-born children of Jamaican parents. Marsha was preparing to leave for the University of Arkansas on a track scholarship when Ranger, after she rejected him, went to the Ottey residence and killed her and Tami, who was regarded as a talented football player.

Their mother, Avis Ottey, found the bodies after returning home ahead of schedule to assist Marsha with packing for the Arkansas move.

Benjamin financed Ottey Sisters himself, putting US$150,000 into the production. Filming was done in Los Angeles across a five-year period.

“It was difficult to relive that era, that entire time shaped my adulthood. That trauma was real and this movie process helped with dealing with it,” he said.

Ranger and Kinkead were both convicted for the killings. Ranger was released on parole in 2022 after spending 24 years behind bars. Kinkead, who received his sentence in 1999, remains in prison.

Benjamin, now in his mid-40s, studied directing, screenwriting and film production at Theater of Arts Hollywood in Los Angeles. Ottey Sisters is his first major film project, and it has the support of Avis Ottey, with whom he has maintained a close bond.

“Ms Ottey is like a mom to me. We talk very often on the phone, we talk about the past, cry together, vent our frustrations on the crimes, and are there for each other after such a long time,” he said.