‘Merciless’ machete murder - After chopping woman to death, enraged attacker killed barking dog

Olivia Brown/Gleaner Writer

Residents of Crooked River have described the chopping death of 61-year-old caregiver Sharon Cole, reportedly by her estranged lover, as a cold-blooded act.

Police reports are that about 5:10 p.m. on Monday, the accused man used a machete to inflict several wounds to Cole’s body after the two were involved in a dispute. She was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

A cousin of Cole’s noted his stark disapproval to the relationship with Cole and theorised that her life might have been spared if her former partner had been detained by the police after a recent dispute got physical.

WATCH: Woman chopped to death in Clarendon

The relative, who requested anonymity, said that the man appeared to be “possessed”.

“The police don’t do them job. He should have been locked away from a month ago when he beat her up and was walking around with a very sharp cutlass telling people what he was gonna do to her,” he said.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force said, in a press statement on Tuesday, that the accused was apprehended in the Corporate Area by the St Andrew Central police.

Gruesome images obtained by The Gleaner showed Cole’s body in a grocery shop, left arm severed, clutching three $100 notes.

Sonia Fearon, another Cole’s cousin, is the shopkeeper at the grocery facility where the ill-fated incident unfolded.

Fearon was a picture of grief on Tuesday, rattled by flashbacks of the violence that played out in front of her.

Cole acceded to the accused’s request to buy him a drink and hummed to drown out further dialogue. He exploded afterwards with unimaginable violence.

“Him grab har and go outside and grab the cutlass and start chop merciless. Me cry, cry out fi help, and nobody to me rescue, because nobody was there,” Fearon told The Gleaner.

“When him finish chop har, him a walk towards me and me haffi run.”

The assailant walked off briskly to his car and reportedly admitted to the fatal attack after he drove off.

Audrey Hinds, Cole’s friend, alleged that the accused has a history of physical abuse, even towards his own relatives.

Cole had been warned of the man’s violent streak. She had reportedly rued having a relationship with the accused.

“He’s evil. After he killed her, he was walking home and a dog started to bark at him and he chopped the dog in two,” said one relative, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Noel Nembhard, councillor for the Kellits division, expressed outrage at the incident.

“I feel very cut up about it. Nobody deserves this to die like that,” he said.