Police say they have enough evidence to lay charges

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of crime, Fitz Bailey has disclosed that the 50-year-old man in police custody, in relation to the murder of 20-year-old Khanice Jackson, has provided information law enforcement with information about the crime.

Bailey, who made the disclosure in an interview with Nationwide News Network this morning, said the information was provided in a “caution statement” given by the suspect. The police crime chief also disclosed that several items believed to be Jackson’s have been found at the man’s home.

This includes her purse and phone.

Jackson’s murder last week has resulted in a public outcry about the perpetration of violence against women, which has become rampant in the Jamaican society.

Bailey said though the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had not yet ruled on the matter, he was confident the police have enough material evidence to press charges.

Evidence suggests Jackson was lured to the home of suspect

He was, however, not willing to say what charges would be laid against the suspect and said the office of the DPP would be consulted before any charges are laid.

Bailey hinted that the evidence so far suggests Jackson was lured to the home of the accused before she was strangled to death and that additional material has been found to support the theory.

Jackson, an accounting clerk, went missing last Wednesday after leaving home in Portmore, St Catherine for work. Her body was found in the Portmore Fishing Village in St Catherine two days later.

Government Member of Parliament Robert Miller on Sunday condemned the murder of Jackson, who hails from his South East St Catherine constituency. He described her demise as “horrendous, heinous and callous” while calling for the imposition of the dealt penalty for such crimes.

Miller, while calling for harsher punishments for crimes of this nature, wants greater focus on the effective socialisation of boys at the community level.

The MP, who visited the family to grieve with them, said: “Khanice Jackson was a young, ambitious and promising member of the constituency and it filled me with immense sadness to learn of her death.”