MoBay's wanted dad surrenders then escapes - Fled while being questioned about his daughter's death

Western Bureau:

Fourteen hours after he surrendered to the police, Rousevelt 'Timmy' Thomas, the St James man who is the main suspect in the death of his three-year-old daughter, Lashaunie Thomas, is back on the run after allegedly escaping from the Barnett Street Police Station, where he was being questioned by detectives.

According to a well-placed police source, Thomas, who was turned in by a pastor shortly after 8 p.m. on Wednesday, jumped from the first floor of the police station and made good his escape up Barnett Street, leaving a group of chasing policemen breathless in their futile pursuit

"We understand that he made his way up to Mt Salem, where residents said he was picked up by a taxi," the police source told The Gleaner. "He escaped with the handcuffs on his hands."

Earlier in the day, Senior Superintendent of Police Steve McGregor, the commanding officer for St James, confirmed that Thomas had surrendered on Wednesday and was being questioned by detectives.

"Yes, it is true that he turned himself in and that he is now being questioned at this time," another police source subsequently told The Gleaner. "What I can't say is whether or not he has confessed to killing the child."

The police launched a manhunt for Thomas early Tuesday morning after his daughter's body was found at the popular Dump Up Beach in Montego Bay. The police say that hours earlier, Thomas had called his mother and told her that he was going to kill the child.

PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS

While the circumstances that led to the child's death remain unclear, based on preliminary investigations by the police, at approximately 8 p.m. on Monday, Thomas went to the Flower Hill home of Lashaunie's mother, Chris-Ann Clarke, and took her away.

"After the man (Thomas) left with the child, he called his mother and told her that he was going to kill himself and kill the child," McGregor told The Gleaner. "She (the child's grandmother) became quite concerned and called the child's mother and told her what her son had told her."

The child's mother promptly reported the threat to the police, who immediately sent out a team in search of Thomas and his daughter. Early Tuesday morning, the child's body was found at the popular Dump Up Beach in downtown Montego Bay. It was partially covered with sand.

Subsequent to the child's body being found, Thomas reportedly sent a text message to his mother, telling her that the missing child was at the Dump Up Beach.