Decomposed remains found in St Ann bushes; St Mary fire death and court updates

A badly decomposed body discovered in bushes in Bamboo, St Ann, on Monday is believed to be that of 66-year-old Owen Hamilton, also known as OG, who had been missing for nine days.

Hamilton, of Stairtown, St Ann, was last seen on Saturday, July 4, while attending a grave-digging exercise in Bamboo. A farmer reportedly found the remains on Monday morning. A close relative who visited the site said the body was too decomposed for positive identification, and the family is awaiting forensic results. Relatives had offered a $500,000 reward for information leading to his recovery. Police are continuing investigations.

In St Mary, police are probing the death of 34-year-old unemployed Anthony Nelson of Huddersfield, whose body was found after a house fire there on Monday. Residents spotted smoke about 4:00 a.m. and alerted the Jamaica Fire Brigade. Neighbours tried to fight the blaze before firefighters arrived and put it out. Nelson was found inside the ruined house with severe burn injuries. Area 2 Technical Services investigators processed the scene, and the body was removed for a post-mortem.

In St James Circuit Court on Monday, Constable Andrew Wilson — the officer charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Latoya Bulgin — had his bail extended and was ordered to return on October 9 for a case management hearing before Justice Andrew Pittgrew Collins. He is represented by King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie and attorney Michael Hemmings. Both sides told the court they are still awaiting key documents, including interview transcripts, certificates, post-mortem reports, the arresting officer’s statement, forensic findings, CCTV footage and DNA results. Disclosure to the defence is expected by August 7. Wilson remains on $1 million bail with one to three sureties, must surrender travel documents, faces a port stop order, must report to Freeport Police Station on Mondays and Thursdays between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., and must live at a specified address.

After the hearing, Champagnie urged the public to let the case proceed in court rather than in public opinion, while acknowledging strong public interest and the need for transparency. He said the October 9 date is for case management, not trial, and that the defence expects to confirm receipt of all documentation by then.

Separately, attorney Ganga Singh appeared in the Supreme Court on Monday for Trench Town divisional councillor Rosalee Hamilton in a defamation claim brought by Kingston Central Member of Parliament and junior government minister Donovan Williams. The matter was adjourned to October 14, 2026, to allow Singh time to study the file.

The suit followed private voice notes by Hamilton that were leaked from a party WhatsApp group onto social media. Williams issued a 48-hour demand for a public apology and retraction, then filed for general, aggravated and exemplary damages, saying the claims were false and harmed his reputation. The court earlier granted him an interim injunction restraining further allegedly defamatory statements, requiring removal of published material and barring public circulation of evidence filed in the case.

Hamilton denies wrongdoing, arguing her comments related to her duties as an elected representative and matters of public interest over public resources, and that she cannot be forced to remove recordings shared privately then uploaded by others without her authority. She has also issued a cease-and-desist demand against Williams over alleged unwanted contact that she says made her fear for her safety; Williams denies those claims. The parties return to the Supreme Court on October 14.