KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Opposition Parliamentarian Phillip Paulwell is “hoping that all who were involved [in the kidnapping and murder of his 10-month-old daughter and her mother] are brought to justice and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
In a statement issued on Saturday, Paulwell said nothing could have prepared him for the events that unfolded since last week Thursday when police here charged Leoda Bradshaw, a US Navy petty officer with whom Paulwell sired a now eight-year-old child, along with three other men in the abduction and murder of his daughter Sarayah and her mother, Toshyna Patterson.
“The past few weeks have been extremely difficult for me as I grappled with the abduction of my daughter and her mother,” the Member of Parliament for Kingston East and Port Royal said in a statement.
“I am heartbroken that the worst has happened,” he said, adding that he had “prayed unceasingly” for their safe return.
“That anyone could murder a mother and an innocent baby is unimaginable, and my heart is heavy with sadness,” he said.
“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 hope all involved are brought to justice and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
Paulwell said he has been in constant dialogue with the police and 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 expressed gratitude to the “many Jamaicans” who have been generous in their prayers and their “kind and thoughtful expressions of love, support, and solidarity” for him and his family.
Last Friday, Bradshaw appeared in the Supreme Court after being charged with two counts of conspiracy to kidnap, two counts of conspiracy to murder, two counts of kidnapping, and two counts of capital murder.
According to the Crown, Bradshaw, who lives overseas, after learning about the existence of Paulwell’s 10-month-old daughter on September 5, 2023, contacted Patterson on Facebook and told her she was Paulwell’s spouse and wanted a DNA test done on the baby.
She traveled to Jamaica the next day, September 6, 2023, “for the sole purpose of killing Toshyna Patterson and the young child she shared with her spouse,” the Crown alleged.
The Crown also alleged that Bradshaw, through her cousin and co-accused Roland Balfour, contracted men to kidnap and murder Patterson and Sarayah.
Balfour has been charged with two counts of accessory before the fact of kidnapping and two counts of accessory before the fact of murder.
Richard Brown, another accused, 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.
Roshane Miller, the third man accused in this matter, has been charged with two counts of accessory before kidnapping and two counts of accessory before murder.
Both Brown and Miller are to appear before the court later this month.
According to prosecutors, Bradshaw met with Miller and Brown to arrange for the kidnappings and murders. The original plan was to kidnap Patterson and the baby from their home.
Prosecutors told the court that Bradshaw paid the men the equivalent of J$100,000 in United States currency as the down payment for the execution of the crime. The remainder of the funds ($400,000) was to be paid after the completion of the deal.
Prosecutors said that on Saturday, September 9, Bradshaw “placed several calls and conversed with Patterson, to lure her away from her premises,” arriving at Patterson’s home at approximately 7:00 am that day.
“Evidentiary material shows Patterson exiting her premises and entering an SUV parked at her gate, along with her baby. Evidentiary material shows that she remained in this vehicle for over 15 minutes. The vehicle then drove off and left the area at approximately 7:22 am. Patterson and Sarayah never exited the vehicle before it left,” the prosecutor told presiding Supreme Court judge Justice Simone Wolfe-Reece on Friday.
The Crown’s case is that Bradshaw took Patterson to Stony Hill in the vicinity of the home where she, Bradshaw, was staying and handed over Patterson and her young child to Brown and other individuals 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,” the court was told.
and then 