Leoda Bradshaw murder trial set for September after plea plan fails

Leoda Bradshaw, the United States Navy officer accused in the killing of Phillip Paulwell’s 10-month-old daughter, Sarayah, and the child’s mother, Toshyna Patterson, is now heading to trial after an expected guilty plea did not proceed.

Bradshaw had been due to admit guilt, but the planned resolution fell apart because prosecutors and the defence could not settle on an agreed account of the case. Director of Public Prosecutions Claudette Thompson told the court that Bradshaw was prepared to plead guilty only on the basis of her own version of events.

That disagreement led to a Newton hearing being set for Thursday in the Home Circuit Court. Such a hearing is used where an accused person wishes to plead guilty but the Crown and defence are at odds over the facts that should guide sentencing. The hearing, however, did not begin.

Defence attorney Deborah Martin said Bradshaw still wished to enter a guilty plea, but the defence and prosecution remained too far apart on key facts. Martin told the court they could not meet the required standard to move forward with the Newton hearing.

Bradshaw was remanded afterward and is listed to go on trial on September 28 with her co-accused: her cousin Roland Balfour, alleged shooter David Smith, and Bjorn Black.

The matter has been before the public since September 2023, when Sarayah and Patterson, 27, were reported taken from their Gilmour Drive home in St Andrew. The prosecution says the woman and baby were carried to east Kingston, shot dead, and their bodies later burnt.

Investigators allege Bradshaw, who has a child with Paulwell, came to Jamaica to arrange the killings. She is accused of bringing hitmen into the plan, involving her cousin, and directing a scheme to kidnap and murder Patterson and Sarayah.

The Crown also says the plan was set in motion one day after Bradshaw challenged Patterson on Facebook about the child.

Bradshaw is charged with two counts each of capital murder, conspiracy to murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy to kidnap. The other accused also face serious allegations connected to the alleged plot.

Two men charged in relation to the case, Richard Brown and Roshane Miller, have already pleaded guilty to offences and have been sentenced.

With the plea route no longer moving ahead, the case is now set for a full trial later this year.