Almost 2,000 calls, texts made between accused before double murder
THERE were almost 2,000 cellphone calls and texts made that were linked to Omar Collymore, Michael Adams, and other men leading up to the January 2, 2018 double murder of Simone Campbell-collymore and taxi driver Winston Walters.
From December 2017 to January 2018, accused Omar Collymore — husband of Simone — was said to have initiated contact with Adams 1,095 times, while Adams initiated cellphone contact with Collymore 797 times. There was also communication between the number assigned to Adams and other men implicated in the crime, which would take the tally near to 2,000.
Following the killing of the two, Collymore along with Adams, Shaquile Edwards, Dewayne Pink, and Wade Blackwood were charged with murder.
Blackwood, who received a life sentence after confessing his guilt, later accepted a deal from prosecutors who promised him a reduced sentence if he turned on his cronies and gave evidence during the trial.
Blackwood and Jim were said to be the trigger men in the killings.
On Wednesday, Deputy Superintendent of Police Maurice Goode of the Communication, Forensics and Cybercrime Division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force presented evidence in the Home Circuit Court murder trial, which showed excessive communication between numbers assigned to Omar Collymore and Michael Adams.
Goode said that on January 1, 2018, the night before the murder, between 7:55 pm and 8:13 pm, there were numerous calls placed by Collymore to Adams and vice versa.
There was also communication between Adams and Pink and according to Goode, Adams also communicated with Edwards.
The records presented by Goode showed that at the time these communications were being made Adams was roving.
Communication from Adams was picked up by numerous cell towers in Kingston and St Andrew, which included the Washington Exchange, Pembroke Hall, Savannah, Havendale, Tarrant, and Upper Red Hills cell sites.
“It suggests that he moved from the general Red Hills area to Tarrant and the Half-way-Tree region. The Savannah cell tower was used up to 12:00 am on January 1, 2018,” he said.
Goode said, too, that, at one point, Adams used the Cockburn Gardens cell site to communicate.
On January 1, at 8:12 pm, Adams placed a call to Edwards. They communicated three times. Prior to that, between 7:55 pm and 7:56 pm, there were four lines of communication between Adams and Collymore.
Between 8:17 pm on January 1, 2018 to 7:25 am the next day, there was more communication between Collymore and Adams, the records showed.
Earlier this year Blackwood testified that the hit to kill Simone was ordered by Collymore, who gave it to Adams, who in turn subcontracted it to “Jim”, a now deceased area don from Brooke Valley in St Andrew.
Blackwood claimed that Jim lured him into the murder, telling him that he had to do it in order to repay his brother’s debt for a firearm that had been seized by the police.