‘Tell us what you know’ - Police appeal for information as murdered lawyer laid to rest

The Major Investigation Division (MID) appealed to the public on Saturday for information that could help solve the murder of attorney-at-law Sashakay Fairclough, who was shot and killed on September 13 in Ocho Rios, St Ann

Fairclough, 31, was buried on Saturday after a thanksgiving service at the First Assembly of God Church in Ocho Rios, just months after she gave her life to Christ at that church.

Fairclough’s mother who was injured in the attack that took her life, arrived in a marked MID vehicle and entered the church with her left hand in a sling. She was warmly greeted by well-wishers.

Detective Inspector Linton Downer of the MID used the opportunity to speak to the gathering, encouraging the sharing of whatever information they might have relating to the incident, even if it appears insignificant.

Downer, part of a four-man team investigating the murder, later spoke with The Gleaner.

“I just want to use this opportunity to appeal to members of the Ocho Rios community and its environs to assist us in this investigation,” he stated.

“It’s not one of the easiest of investigations, but persons would have known something, must have seen something. Find some ways and means to communicate that with us. It might not be of interest to you at this point, but I can tell you, what might not be of interest to you might be very, very important to us.

“We are expecting persons from the Ocho Rios community to communicate with us, speak with us, so we can help bring this matter to a closure.”

He said there was not much to report on the progress of investigations, but the team was doing background work and remain very optimistic and passionate about their investigations.

Growing up, Fairclough attended Ocho Rios Primary School before passing her examinations to attend Holy Childhood High School in Kingston. After university, she would return to her hometown to work in a profession that her aunt, Geraldine Hamilton, who read the remembrance, had predicted for her based on her oral skills as a little girl.

It was a packed church that witnessed tear-filled tributes to Fairclough. Spirited performances by singer Traig Taylor and also the First Assembly Praise team ignited the gathering, forcing them to join in the singing and worship.

There were tributes from Northern Jamaica Law Society, Courtney Hopkins, and Murray and Tucker, the law firm she joined in January 2018 and remained up to the time of her death.

Leon HoSang, managing partner in the law firm Murray and Tucker, speaking to The Gleaner, praised the young lawyer’s impact on the company and its clients, while also speaking of how her death has affected the team.

“We are trying to manage, it’s not easy because she had an excellent client relationship personality,” HoSang said.

“She had enormous promise and potential. We have no doubt she would have been an excellent member of the legal fraternity, she would have really done wonders for the office and the profession and, by extension, the island, so it’s really a very tragic loss for somebody in the youth of her years. But, of course, and sadly, this is the story of Jamaica today.”

Persons may call Det Insp Downer at 876-440-1203 or the MID at 876-758-5048.