Guilty verdict for beheading accused

It took a seven-member jury a little more than two hours yesterday to convict Kemar Riley, who was charged with the murders of Charmaine Cover-Rattray and her daughter Joeith Lynch.

The jurors voted unanimously to convict Riley for the murder of the two women, who were chopped repeatedly and shot before they were beheaded by a group of about nine men on July 19, 2011 at their home in Lauriston, St Catherine.

The trial was held in the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston. Earlier this month, Adrian Campbell, Fabian Smith and Roshane Goldson pleaded guilty to non-capital murder for their roles in the crime. All four are to be sentenced on December 11.

"I am elated that justice has been served. Guilty should be the verdict because guilty they are," said a relative of the deceased, who spoke on condition that her name not be published because of safety concerns. "They took them away so gruesomely. Nothing can bring back [Joeith] and her mother, but I hope they get the sentence they deserve ... life."

Detective Inspector Steadman Bailey, lead investigator, heaped praises on his colleagues who worked with him to crack the case 10 days after the killings made national headlines.

He disclosed that investigators caught a break after Campbell was overheard, during a conversation at the Spanish Town police lock-up, telling another man what had happened inside the women's house.

Bailey said he was satisfied that justice had been served, "not just for the family of the deceased, but for the community at large".