The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has charged Rushane Barnett with five counts of murder in connection to the Cocoa Piece, Clarendon massacre that rocked the country earlier this week.

The Corporate Communications Unit (CCU), in a statement last night (June 24), advised that Barnett, was charged based on a caution statement he gave to the police.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Fitz Bailey explained via audio recording that Barnett’s charges culminate an exhaustive probe by detectives attached to the Area Three Division.

“[Barnett] was charged after an intensive investigation was carried out by the Area Three Major Investigations Division, supported by the Major Investigation Division headquarters in Kingston as well as the Clarendon CIB (Criminal Investigations Branch), Trelawny Police and other formations within the JCF,” Bailey outlined.

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In a case that has saddened the nation, Barnett was initially listed as a person of interest after the lifeless bodies of 31-year-old nursing student Kemesha Wright and her four children were found on Tuesday, June 21.

Wright, her daughters Kimanda Smith (15), Shara-Lee Smith (10) and five-year-old Rafaella Smith, as well as 23-month-old Kishawn Henry, succumbed to injuries they sustained at their New Road home in Cocoa Piece, Clarendon.

Barnett, a cousin to Wright, is alleged to have fled the scene and was later apprehended in Wilson Run, Trelawny, an area he was known to frequent.

The JCF further indicated that court date has not yet been finalised for Barnett.