The confirmation that his 10-month-old daughter Sarayah and her 27-year-old mother Toshyna Patterson were kidnapped and brutally murdered has left veteran lawmaker Phillip Paulwell heartbroken.
In his first public comments since Friday, when Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey revealed that the two were shot and killed and their bodies burned after they were kidnapped from their St Andrew home on the morning of Saturday, September 9, Paulwell said his heart is heavy with sadness.
Phillip Paulwell’s 10-month-old daughter Sarayah and her 27-year-old mother Toshyna Patterson who were ‘brutally murdered’ after being abducted from their home in Kingston on September 9.
In a statement Saturday, the longstanding Member of Parliament for East Kingston and Port Royal stated that he wants those involved “punished to the fullest extent of the law”.
However, it must be particularly painful for him since the alleged mastermind, 34-year-old US Navy petty officer Leoda Bradshaw, is the woman with whom he shares an eight-year-old daughter. Bradshaw also describes herself as Paulwell’s spouse.
Bradshaw, her cousin and two other men have been slapped with a litany of charges in relation to the deaths of the mother and child, including murder, conspiracy to murder and kidnapping.
“The past few weeks have been extremely difficult for me as I grappled with the abduction of my daughter and her mother,” Paulwell said.
“I am heartbroken that the worst has happened,” he added, while stating that he had “prayed unceasingly” for their safe return.
Paulwell said nothing could have prepared him for the events that unfolded since last week Thursday.
Said Paulwell: “That anyone could murder a mother and an innocent baby is unimaginable, and my heart is heavy with sadness. I am praying for Toshyna’s family, who I know are experiencing the unbearable grief and pain of losing their beloved daughter and granddaughter. As a human being, father, lawyer, and legislator, I am hoping that all who were involved are brought to justice and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
While he has not said much over the weeks that they had been missing, Paulwell said he has been in constant dialogue with the police. He said he has cooperated fully with the investigation.
“I cannot comment on the investigations nor matters before the court, but I wish to thank the police for their tireless work,” he said.
And, as he did in the Parliament two weeks ago, he again expressed gratitude to the “many Jamaicans” who have been generous in their prayers, as well as their “kind and thoughtful expressions of love, support, and solidarity” for him and his family.
Bradshaw and her cousin Roland Balfour, whose help she allegedly sought in getting men to carry out the kidnapping and murder, appeared Friday in the Supreme Court on a voluntary bill of indictment. This means the Director of Public Prosecutions went straight to the high court without the need for a preliminary hearing in the parish court.
Bradshaw is charged with two counts of conspiracy to kidnap, two counts of conspiracy to murder, two counts of kidnapping, and two counts of capital murder. Balfour was charged with two counts of accessory before the fact to kidnapping and two counts of accessory before the fact to murder.
According to the prosecution, Bradshaw allegedly travelled to Jamaica with the sole purpose of killing Patterson and her daughter after she found out on September 5 that Patterson had a daughter with her spouse.
Following her discovery, Bradshaw contacted Patterson on Facebook and informed her that she was Paulwell’s spouse. She told Patterson that a DNA test should be done to determine the paternity of the child.
The prosecution said Patterson blocked Bradshaw from her account after a brief exchange, but Bradshaw, who lives in the United States, flew to Jamaica on September 6 “for the sole purpose of killing Toshyna Patterson and the young child she shared with her spouse”.
Besides her cousin Balfour, two other men — Roshane Miller and Richard Brown — are to appear before the court later this month to face the charges against them.
For his part, Brown has been charged with two counts of conspiracy to murder, two counts of conspiracy to kidnap, two counts of kidnapping, and two counts of murder. Miller, a 29-year-old air conditioning technician, has been charged with two counts of accessory before the fact to kidnapping, and two counts of accessory before the fact to murder.
Prosecutors claim that Bradshaw agreed to pay $500,000 to have the mother and daughter killed. She allegedly paid the men the equivalent of J$100,000 in United States currency as downpayment for the hit job. She reportedly agreed to pay the balance of $400,000 after they were dead.
According to prosecutors, it was Bradshaw herself who arrived at Patterson’s home on September 9 in an SUV after placing several calls to her phone and conversing with her.
She then took her to Stony Hill, St Andrew and allegedly handed her over to Brown and other persons who the court was told are yet to be apprehended.
“After this, Patterson and her young child were taken to Warieka Hills where they were shot and killed and their bodies burned,” prosecutors said.