Two murders recorded in 24 hours in St James

Despite the best efforts of the St James police to rein in lawlessness, especially murders, violence producers continue to undermine their efforts as two murders were recorded in the 24 hours between Thursday morning and Friday morning, bringing to 23 the number of persons murdered in the parish since the start.

“In comparison to former years, this year has started off quite well, so I am hoping that this is not a sign that things are getting out of hand,” a former top-flight Montego Bay crime-fighter told The Gleaner yesterday.

“I hope these common boys (killers) realise that times have change and once they are identified, the police will be coming to get them.”

In the killings that took place in Barrett Hall, and Catherine Hall, the victims were identified as 53-year-old chef Richard Brown, and 38-year-old Kadene Kay Neckford. Brown was shot and killed while Beckford had her throat slashed.

According to police report, in the Barrett Hall incident, which took place approximately 9:45 a.m., Brown, who hails from Waggon Wheel district, was shot and killed by unknown assailants.

The full details of the incident were not provided by the police.

The matter is being investigated by the Coral Gardens police.

In the second incident, the body of Beckford, a hotel worker of the Catherine Hall community, was found in a house in the community in a pool of blood. An individual, who is believed to be a suspect in her killing, was taken into custody. The matter is under investigation by the Montego Bay CIB.

During a press conference on April 19, Deputy Superintendent of Police Linroy Edwards, the operations officer for St James, called on the general citizenry in St James, to support the effort of the police to rein in lawlessness, saying there must be a concerted effort to collectively blunt lawlessness.

“We are going to ask that you see the police’s effort of trying to maintain law and order as not being oppressive, but as ensuring that everyone can move around and do business and feel safe,” said Edwards.

For more than 20 years, St James was the nation’s most murderous parish, recording more than 100 murders every year, as rampaging gangsters settled their feuds with powerful handguns and rifles. However, the trend was broken last year, when the murder tally fell to 58 from the 125 in 2024.

The 23 murders recorded in St James since the start of this year is one more than the corresponding period last year. Nonetheless, it makes the parish the second most murderous based on the latest statistics unveiled by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), which shows the parish second behind St Andrew South, which has recorded 31 murders.

 adrian.frater@gleanerjm.com