Kingston carpenter charged with murder after death of 13-year-old Kemelia Paul

Kemar Mitchell, a 28-year-old carpenter from a Kingston 17 address, has been charged with murder after the death of 13-year-old Kemelia Paul, who died in hospital on Tuesday.

Mitchell is expected to face the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court over a May 9 incident in which police say the grade seven student was hurt after stepping into a confrontation between him and her mother. Kemelia's death has brought grief across Jamaica.

According to the police account, Mitchell went to the home Kemelia shared with her mother, where a dispute began between the two adults and later turned violent. Investigators allege that when Kemelia tried to intervene, Mitchell stabbed her in the stomach with a knife and then left the property.

Kemelia was taken for medical treatment, but died from her injuries on Tuesday, June 9. Mitchell was charged with murder the following day and is due in court on July 17.