No breakthrough in killing of boy, aged 9
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Up to Saturday, there was no new development in the investigation by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) concerning the cold-blooded murder of nine-year-old Gabriel King.
King, who was autistic, was found with his throat slashed and his body slumped on the back seat of his mother’s car on Thursday. The car, which was found on Oak Hill Avenue in Fairfield Estates, had been reported stolen only minutes earlier.
In an interview with the Jamaica Observer after the boy’s body was found, commanding officer of the St James Police Division, Senior Superintendent Vernon Ellis, shared that thorough investigations were being carried out by his team into the matter that has again shaken the Jamaica landscape.
“Detectives from the forensic unit from the Area One [Crime Investigation Bureau (CIB)] and the Major Investigation Division are conducting investigations into this heinous crime,” Ellis said.
“These are early days yet, but I can guarantee that we will leave no stones unturned,” the senior cop said on Thursday.
The lawman said that approximately 11:30 am on Thursday, the young boy and his mother were travelling in an Audi motor car when, she said, they were attacked.
“King was in the rear of a motor vehicle being driven by his mom. She reported that she slowed down to manoeuvre some potholes when she was approached by a man who hit her in the face, forced her door open, then pulled her from the vehicle. The vehicle was driven away with King in the back seat,” SSP Ellis told the Sunday Observer on Thursday.
After an alarm was raised by the boy’s mother, three units were deployed to the Fairfield area where young King was found inside the car with his throat slashed, SSP Ellis told the Sunday Observer.
“Police teams were deployed immediately. Two of the police teams came into contact with the car and one rescued the mother. The teams that came into contact with the car found the young nine-year-old in the backseat, face down, covered in a pool of blood. His throat appeared to be slashed,” he said.
The child’s gruesome murder has sent the entire country into a state of shock, said Ellis.
Government Senator Charles Sinclair has also expressed his outrage and shock. Sinclair, who is also councillor for the Montego Bay North East Division, called on the police high command to do all in its power to bring the perpetrators who “attacked and killed a vulnerable child” to justice.
“I am calling on the police to leave no stone unturned in bringing these criminals to justice. The police must use their most competent team of detectives to thoroughly investigate this matter and ensure that once they get to the bottom of it, the full force of the law is applied to those responsible for robbing St James, the wider Jamaica and a family of a nine-yearold youngster,” Sinclair said.
“Even if the Jamaica, Constabulary Force needs to bring in additional resources to assist in the investigation, this must be done, as these criminals must be brought to justice,” the senator added.
The lawmaker continued, “This is a heartless, cowardly act and must be condemned in the strongest possible manner. We all know that our children are the future of this world and when criminals target them, it speaks to the low level of depravity to which these criminals have fallen.”
In a news release, Minister of Education Fayval Williams also condemned the frequent “violent attacks on women and children.
“The frequency of violent attacks on women and children across the society is highly disturbing. I cannot imagine what could motivate anyone to carry out such a dastardly act on such a young life. This is pure, unadulterated evil,” the minister said.
“I am extending condolences to the families and I am also appealing to anyone who may have any information that can help the police in their investigations to share this as quickly as possible,” Williams added.