Murder suspect surrenders in St. James, fatal crashes and council clash headline Saturday news

A 31-year-old man sought in connection with the death of his American girlfriend turned himself in to police in St. James on Friday, May 15, after relatives helped arrange a safe handover.

Dean Watson had been wanted since April 29, when 42-year-old Melissa Somnath of New York was found with multiple injuries at Cornwall Regional Hospital and was later pronounced dead. Investigators said Watson took Somnath to the hospital and then left. Police believe he fled the parish and had been hiding in the Gayle community in St. Mary. Fearing for his safety, he contacted family members, who liaised with Gayle police. After coordination with law enforcement, Watson was passed to investigators and remains in custody while enquiries continue. The case has drawn local and international attention because of Somnath’s New York ties.

In St. Mary, 28-year-old O’Neil Tavares, known in Huddersfield as Philly, died on Thursday, May 14, after he was struck by a westbound Toyota Hiace truck while walking along the roadway around 8:45 p.m. Police said Tavares reportedly stepped into the truck’s path. He suffered severe injuries and was taken to St. Ann’s Bay Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The driver remained at the scene. St. Mary police renewed appeals for motorists and pedestrians to slow down, stay alert, and take extra care at night on narrow roads with limited lighting.

St. Elizabeth police are hunting a suspect after 61-year-old farmer Radcliffe Alcock of Whitehall was killed during a dispute in Whitehall Square, Bethlehem, on Friday about 3:15 p.m. The suspect allegedly confronted a man at a shop over family property, became irate, fought, left, then returned with a machete. Alcock approached in an effort to calm him and was chopped in the face. He was taken to hospital and pronounced dead. The machete was seized from the suspect, who fled.

At the St. James Municipal Corporation, opposition councillor Michael Troupe blamed recent police killings in his Granville division on Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s 2025 remark that people should meet a judge or their maker. He cited the January 1 deaths of four-year-old Romaine Bwoy Man and a 17-year-old, and a police shooting of another 17-year-old on Mother’s Day. Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon challenged him, and Government Minister Senator Charles Sinclair said the comment, made in February 2025 after the arrival of 56 deportees from the United States, was about adherence to the law and citizens’ right to complain to INDECOM. Senior Superintendent Aaron Samuels reported 26 murders in the parish since the start of the year and said police work with INDECOM when fatal shootings occur.

The parliamentary opposition says Holness must answer for the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management distributing only about $26 million, or 1.8 per cent, of $1.244 billion in donations for Hurricane Melissa victims by April. Melissa struck as a category 5 storm on October 28, 2025. ODPM says low cash spending reflects prudent management given nearly $400 million in donated building materials already supporting roof repairs. Opposition spokesperson Dr. Angela Brown-Burke said weak leadership and political interference also slowed aid after Hurricane Beryl on July 3, 2024, and called for full accounting of cash and food supplies.