Police name drowned CMU student as probes continue into five Jamaica deaths

Police on Wednesday identified a Caribbean Maritime University student whose body washed ashore at Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth, a day after he went missing while swimming, as authorities also pursued separate fatal incidents in Clarendon, Trelawny, St. James and St. Andrew.

Officers named the student as Jolene Simpson. He had been visiting relatives in Treasure Beach when he went swimming on Monday and was overcome by a strong undertow. Residents tried to rescue him but failed. His body washed up Tuesday at Old Wharf in Treasure Beach.

In northern Clarendon, police are investigating the suspected suicide of 17-year-old Knox Community College student Brent Shaw, a Carti Hill resident near James Hill. About 8:25 p.m. Tuesday, officers were called to the family home after a relative found him inside a chicken coop. Frankfield police are handling the case.

Relatives of 10-year-old Shanai Kedra Ko, whose partially nude body was found Tuesday with her throat slashed in Troy, Trelawny, remembered her as a top pupil at Troy Primary School. Her aunt, Shana Williams Stevens, standing with the child’s mother, Akim Kim Williams, said Shanai lived with her grandparents, took school seriously and was among the top students. “When you look at her you see the next doctor, lawyer, and they just took her life,” Williams Stevens said.

Police and residents said Shanai was abducted mid-afternoon Tuesday while walking home from a shop. A farmer searching for his cow after hearing strange sounds in the bushes found the body and raised the alarm. A mob then attacked a father and son in the community. Residents said the men were relatives and accused the son of raping and killing the child. He was beaten, chopped and stoned to death; his father was hospitalised. Police named the dead man as Delroy Ko but gave no further details.

The child’s father, Aston Ko, also called Junior, said her grandmother had sent her to the shop and she never returned. “Someone stopped her on the street and disturbed her somehow and slashed her throat,” he said, adding she was loved in the community and excelled at school. He recalled seeing her Saturday at a community back-to-school treat and said he did not see her Sunday or Monday. “It is a very sad story to know that this neighbourhood of Troy, Trelawny, has come to this,” Ko said.

In St. James, police are investigating a suspected murder and attempted suicide in the Greens community of Norwood. A woman died from chop wounds after an altercation with her partner about 10:00 a.m. Wednesday; the man was hospitalised after ingesting what appeared to be a poisonous substance. Her name and his condition have not been released. Unconfirmed reports said the couple were in divorce proceedings.

The Independent Commission of Investigations has opened a probe into the death of Horace Williams of East Albion, St. Thomas, who fell ill in custody at the Duhaney Park Police Station in St. Andrew. Arrested on July 2 in a murder investigation and held at a Corporate Area station, Williams became ill on the afternoon of July 21 and was pronounced dead at Kingston Public Hospital. Circumstance details have not been disclosed. Up to Wednesday, 15 deaths in custody had been reported this year at correctional facilities and police stations. A post-mortem is expected as INDECOM’s inquiry continues.