Nothing of 'evidential value' found on Leon-Issa's cellular phone, police say

Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of crime, Fitz Bailey, says there was nothing of "evidential value" on the phone belonging to the mother of nine-year-old Gabriel King, who was killed in January 2022.

Bailey was giving an update on the results of the analysis of the contents of the phone which was at the centre of a lengthy legal battle between the mother and the police.

The St James Parish Court on November 18, 2022 ruled that Amoy Leon-Issa should surrender the device to the police to assist their investigations into her son's murder.

Leon-Issa filed a motion in the Supreme Court through her legal team challenging the order, citing her right to privacy, but the Supreme Court upheld the order following in-chambers hearings on March 30 and April 26, 2023.

Leon-Issa subsequently handed over the access code for the phone to the police on September 29, 2023, following an order from the Supreme Court that she should grant that access by 4 p.m. that day.

However, on Tuesday afternoon Bailey said "the phone was processed based on the directive of the court...unfortunately there was no evidential value found on the phone".

"We have our own views, but I will not impart that at this time," he added.

Gabriel King, who was developmentally challenged, was reportedly abducted from his mother on January 13, 2022 along the Tucker main road in St James.

According to reports at the time, assailants dragged Leon-Issa from the motorcar in which the mother and child were travelling and then sped off with the vehicle, with young King still inside. The vehicle was later found along the Fairfield main road, and the child's body was found in the back seat with the throat slashed.

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