Baby killer could get 50 per cent discount on sentence

The man who on Thursday pleaded guilty to the murder and kidnapping of opposition lawmaker Phillip Paulwell's infant daughter and her mother could benefit from a massive discount in his sentence.

Under the Criminal Justice (Administration) Act, a person who pleads guilty at the first opportunity may benefit from discounted sentence by up to 50 per cent.

The defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and two counts of kidnapping. He is to be sentenced on November 15. It is unclear whether the confessed killer, whose name is being withheld, will be cooperating with prosecutors in the case against his co-accused.

Leoda Bradshaw, the alleged mastermind, is charged jointly with Roland Balfour, Richard Brown and Roshane Miller.

Reports are that the man who pleaded guilty drove the killers to Wareika Hills, St Andrew, where 10-month-old Sarayah Paulwell and her mother, 27-year-old Toshyna Patterson, were murdered.

It is further reported that he was the person who had collected part payment from Bradshaw, and handed it over to the men.

Bradshaw, who is Paulwell's companion and the mother of one of his children, is alleged to have offered the killer $500,000 to murder the woman and her child.

The mother and daughter were abducted from their home on Gilmore Drive in St Andrew on September 9.

They were allegedly taken to east Kingston, where they were shot dead and their bodies burnt.

Bradshaw, and her cousin, Balfour, appeared in court earlier this month and were remanded until December. Bradshaw, a 34-year-old US Navy officer, is charged with two counts each of capital murder, conspiracy to murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy to kidnapping.

Balfour was charged with two counts each of accessory before the fact to kidnapping and accessory before the fact to murder.