Call for justice as autopsy points to murder of mob victim

In the wake of an autopsy indicating that he was murdered, friends of Chieftin Campbell, the victim of a mob attack in Mandeville in May, are demanding that the perpetrators face justice in the courts.

The 62-year-old, who was pointed out by an undetermined individual as a robbery suspect, sustained blunt-force trauma to the head, neck, and shoulders caused by the unlawful beating, according to attorney-at-law Oswest Senior-Smith, who represents the family.

“Someone will have to talk how this go. Them (the police) will have to charge somebody,” Franklin Barrett, Campbell’s friend and neighbour for more than a decade, said in a Gleaner interview Sunday.

“I hear they are looking for persons ... . We just trying to cope now because this serious. We are still here grieving right now.”

Campbell was found in the midst of a crowd with a bloody nose approximately 2 p.m. along Manchester Road on Friday, May 6, by police on foot patrol who subsequently handcuffed him before transporting him to hospital.

That action sparked outrage among acquaintances of Campbell, who hailed him as an upstanding citizen and community representative who had sat on the board of the Victoria Primary School for the last five years.

The police, however, later indicated that the action was taken to protect Campbell from the mob, while taking into consideration the accusations made against him.

Two weeks ago, Superintendent Lloyd Darby, commanding officer of the Manchester police, revealed that two persons were identified in surveillance footage and were being sought.

He also indicated that the investigation was at a “delicate stage” and that he would soon make a statement.

A source close to the family said Campbell’s funeral has been tentatively set for Saturday, June 25.