‘Collateral damage’

There has been a “discernible” rise in the number of children killed, maimed or sexually assaulted over the last decade as “deliberate collateral damage” in domestic violence cases, Jamaica’s prosecutorial authority has revealed.

In particular, prosecutors have raised concerns about what they say is a noticeable spike in the number of children being killed by spurned lovers to spite their ex-partners for ending a romantic relationship.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) did not provide figures, explaining that it does not collate such data, but said its assertion is “based on what we have seen”.

The murders of four-month-old Destiny Brown; 10-month-old Sarayah Paulwell; siblings Aviere and Aranza Williams, seven days old and 23 months old, respectively; four-year-old Sariah Kowen; eight-year-old Danielle Rowe; eight-year-old Galen Buchanan; and nine-year-old Nikita Noel are among the cases cited by prosecutors which also made national headlines.

Nikita Noel was reported missing by her mother Nordia Edwards on February 1 last year after the nine-year-old did not return home from Esher Primary School, where she was a student.

Her body was later discovered in bushes near her home and a postmortem revealed that she was raped and strangled.

Edwards’ former spouse, Omar Green, has since been convicted for the killing and rape and has been sentenced to two separate terms of life imprisonment for both offences. He will be eligible for parole after serving 50 years and seven months for the murder and 43 years and seven months for the rape.

‘Pure wickedness’

Actions like this, said one prosecutor, are motivated by “pure wickedness”.

“You stop loving me, I am going to take something from you,” said the prosecutor, pointing to the mindset behind these killings.

“Over the last 10 to 15 years, we have noticed a discernible uptick where children are being killed in order to spite the other person,” said chief prosecutor Paula Llewellyn, making reference to killings stemming from failed romantic relationships.

The concerns come days after The Gleaner reported that Jamelia and Javone Leslie, the siblings who killed Avierre and Aranza Williams, along with their mother, Kashief Jackson, then set fire to their home in July 2018 as a result of a love triangle, will be eligible to apply for parole eight years earlier than previously ordered courtesy of a recent ruling by the Court of Appeal.

The father of the two slain children and Jackson’s live-in partner was also involved in a romantic relationship with Jamelia Leslie, he admitted to investigators.

Jamelia Leslie admitted to probation officers that she became frustrated with the ongoing situation and that she was being taunted by community members about the outright infidelity of her ‘spouse’, a court transcript revealed.

Psychological disorders

Consultant child psychologist Dr Orlean Brown-Earle believes persons who inflict harm on a child over a failed relationship could have “one of any of the myriad of psychological disorders”.

“Remember, for you to intentionally hurt or harm, you are not mentally okay. This is not self-defence,” she told The Gleaner yesterday.

“That’s not a normal thinking person. So there are concerns for the mental health of the person who would do that.”

Kayodi Satchell, a dental assistant, is awaiting trial for the murder of Danielle Rowe, who was found with her throat slashed along Roosevelt Avenue, in St Andrew in July last year. Danielle succumbed to her injuries two days later at the Bustamante Hospital for Children.

Satchell previously shared a romantic relationship with the child’s father.

Her attorney, Donnovan Collins, declined to comment for this report, noting that his client has maintained her innocence “from day one” and is awaiting her day in court to have her name cleared.

Leoda Bradshaw, a petty officer in the United States Navy, is among three people awaiting trial for the murder of Toshyna Patterson, 27, and her daughter Sarayah Paulwell, daughter of Opposition Member of Parliament Phillip Paulwell last September.

Bradshaw was also reportedly in a romantic relationship with the lawmaker.

Ochest Rose was sentenced to life in prison and will have to serve 27 years before he is eligible for parole after he confessed to killing Galen Buchanan by tossing the eight-year-old in the Kingston Harbour after the boy’s mother ended their relationship of less than one year.

livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com