Soldier found dead along Palisadoes road

"Oh God mi cousin, why dem kill yuh?" were the words shouted by a family member of Corporal Sekou Medder of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) who was found dead in a service vehicle yesterday morning.

Unable to hold back her tears as his body was removed from the scene, the woman began to lose her balance and had to be supported by Medder's colleagues. THE STAR understands that Medder was discovered by a fellow serviceman after the parked vehicle was seen facing the rocks on the Palisadoes main road in Kingston. Upon close inspection, Medder was observed locked in the vehicle with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head and a gun in his hand. When THE STAR arrived at the scene shortly after 10 a.m., the service vehicle had fumes coming from the muffler indicating that the engine was still running. Roughly an hour later, members of the JDF along with a police forensic team were observed pulling the vehicle which took roughly 30 minutes. Medder's relative insisted that he was not suicidal.

"Him jovial. A Thursday me talk to him ... dem kill him, him cah kill himself," the relative said.

"Him nuh missing nuh holiday, him nuh missing nuh activity weh we a duh. Suh him never felt left out. Him family supportive bad," she added.

She also told the news team that Medder was a husband and father and that his family was deeply saddened by his passing.

"Right now, wi broken. Wi family cah be the same without him. Nothing nah guh be the same without him," his relative said.

Head of the JDF communications, Major Kayson Gunzell, told THE STAR that currently, the force's main priority is providing support for Medder's family and colleagues as the circumstances surrounding his death are still being investigated.