Chilling confession

FRANKFIELD, Clarendon — Police here say a 15-year-old schoolboy has been charged with murder after he confessed to using a screwdriver to fatally stab his 64-year-old neighbour then dragged her body to hide the gruesome crime. The victim, Hyacinth Rose Johnson, a domestic helper, was killed in Union district, Grantham, north-west Clarendon in July. “The police continued their investigation, which led them to the arrest of this young man. He was arrested on Saturday and on Monday, while being interviewed in the presence of his mother and two justices of the peace, he confessed to using a screwdriver to stab the female to death. He indicated that he was not provoked by the female, and that he doesn’t know why he [killed] her. The incident occurred at his home, which is in front of the home of the deceased,” a police source told the Jamaica Observer Tuesday. Police dispelled rumours that Johnson, also called June, had been sexually assaulted by her killer. Police said the teen, who is a student at a prominent high school, confessed to moving the woman’s body to the back of her house. “We have no evidence that she was sexually assaulted. Her clothing was found in a certain position; that is why persons were of the view that she was sexually molested. She was drawn by him, in a bid to hide the crime, from his premises to another premises. In the process [her underwear] were pulled down to her ankles,” the police source said.

Member of Parliament for Clarendon North Western Richard Azan speaking, on August 29, during the funeral for slain Grantham resident Hyacinth Rose Johnson.

A police report outlined that about 7:00 am on July 1 residents of Union stumbled upon Johnson’s body at the back of her house. Police said the body had stab wounds to the chest. Five days later, placard-bearing residents dressed in red and black marched through the community, protesting Johnson’s gruesome murder. Member of Parliament for Clarendon North Western Richard Azan said Johnson was a mother of four who lived alone. “People are outraged about it, because June was not a person who gave trouble. June went around washing and cleaning [homes] for people. She was a hard-working churchwoman. I said it at the funeral [on August 29], and I said it at a community meeting. I said we have to find this one; that was clear in my mind and we arranged community meetings and all of that with the police and everybody,” said Azan. “I am so disappointed that a young person could be able to [allegedly] commit a crime on someone in a community who gave service to the same community by helping other persons. She could be the grandmother of the person [accused of] committing the crime,” added Azan.