LISTED AS PERSON OF INTEREST IN ST JAMES MURDER, MAN SURRENDERS TO ST MARY POLICE
GAYLE, St Mary, May 16, 2026 (Updated 7:30 p.m. May 16)
A man listed as a person of interest in the death of his Jamaican-born wife, who is a US resident, has turned himself in to the police.
Thirty-one-year-old Dane Anthony Watson became a person of interest in the case involving the death of 37-year-old Melissa Kerry Samnoth, an accountant of New York City, USA..
Reports say Watson and Samnoth were married last December.
(Melissa Samnath was in Jamaica to celebrate her birthday)
She had come to Jamaica on April 28 to celebrate her birthday. Her body was found badly battered, in a pool of blood, in a house in Norwood, Montego Bay, St James. Watson reportedly accompanied her to the hospital and disappeared after she was taken from the vehicle that took her there.
She was pronounced dead at Cornwall Regional Hospital on April 29.
A police release Saturday evening, May 16, said a post-mortem examination conducted on Wednesday, May 6, determined that Ms. Samnath died from multiple blunt force trauma to the head.
The story has become an international one, with reports appearing in the media in New York, USA, and in the UK.
(Melissa Samnath)
After Samnath’s death, Watson was listed as a person of interest but could not be located in St James.
Reports to the North Coast Times are that the St. Mary Police received information that Watson was in the parish and willing to surrender to the authorities, but feared for his safety.
Following coordination between the police and the family, Watson was safely escorted to the Gayle Police Station, where he was formally handed over, without incident, to investigators. Police say following Waton’s arrest he was taken to St James police and placed in safe custody.
The St. Mary Police continue to encourage persons who are wanted or listed as persons of interest to peacefully surrender to the authorities and cooperate with investigations, as the division remains committed to upholding law and order while ensuring the safety and security of all citizens.
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