SILVERA A SUSPECT
Former PNP MP whisked away for questioning over deceased wife’s killing
Published:Friday | January 19, 2024 | 7:35 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
Former Member of Parliament for Western St Mary Jolyan Silvera was preparing for a party yesterday evening for an aunt of his deceased wife when investigators showed up to confront him.
The Gleaner understands that the party was cancelled as the former MP, who is now a suspect in his wife’s gun murder, was taken to the office of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Major Investigation Division (MID) under flashing siren lights sometime after 5 p.m.
Investigators say they have made a major breakthrough in the murder of 42-year-old Melissa Silvera, the mother of the former MP’s three boys.
Head of the JCF’s crime portfolio, Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey, said the police have sufficient evidence to mount a viable prosecution against the former People’s National Party (PNP) representative.
This after intense weeks of investigation into Melissa’s cause of death and following a ruling from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Melissa was laid to rest last Friday at the St Andrew Parish Church.
Last evening, Jolyan was seated in the conference room at MID for a little over two hours waiting on his attorney, Peter Champagnie, KC, to arrive for his third round of questioning.
He was questioned on two occasions last year.
“Several lines of enquiry were drawn during the investigative process … as a consequence, consultation was made with the Office of the DPP who concur with our findings,” Bailey said.
“This significant development is a testament to the dedication of the JCF in serving the public and upholding the principles of being a force for good. The JCF remains resolute in its commitment to transparency, justice, and public safety,” he said, adding that the JCF understands the concerns of the public.
The Gleaner understands that Champagnie was livid when he arrived at MID last night.
Our news team was told that Silvera had been asked to present himself at MID by 9 a.m. yesterday. However, an 11th-hour call from his attorney to facilitate the process was stood down.
“He requested that Mr Silvera present himself on Friday at 9 a.m. instead.
However, the police took the position that they would go for him,” a source close to the investigation said, sharing that the police made their move at the occasion celebrating his deceased wife’s aunt.
The would-be party was being held at the house where Melissa took her last breath.
“We were getting ready to go to the party, and (name omitted) told us it put off because they came for Joe (Jolyan),” a family friend told The Gleaner.
Initial reports were that Melissa died in her sleep on November 10 of natural causes a month shy of her eighth wedding anniversary.
An autopsy performed three weeks after her death unearthed at least three bullet fragments in her body.
This prompted the police to launch a murder investigation.
Silvera’s licensed firearm was seized for ballistic testing.
“Everything scrub down. He even wiped her computer and is hiding her phone,” claimed a source close to the investigation in speaking with The Gleaner.
Our news team was told that investigators revisited an individual who assisted with cleaning-up activities at the Diamond Court apartment on January 14, and took further statements.
The Gleaner also gathered that the police sergeant who attended the scene first, by himself, has been transferred from the Stony Hill Police Station.
He reportedly drove his personal car to the crime scene.
Up to press time, Silvera was reportedly undergoing questioning.
Investigations are ongoing.