The Jamaican authorities said they are seeking the public’s assistance in locating a person of interest who they believe can assist with the murder probe of Melissa Silvera, the wife of former Member of Parliament Jolyan Silvera.
The former parliamentarian has been charged with his wife’s murder, after the discovery of her body at their Stony Hill home in St Andrew on November 10.
Melissa Silvera was previously said to have died in her sleep at the home, but authorities later revealed that she was shot three times. Jolyan is also being charged with the offense of using a firearm to commit a felony.
The woman named as a person of interest is Sashana Miller of a Corporate Area address, according to information released by the Major Investigations Division (MID) yesterday.
Miller was been asked to turn herself into the MID office in Kingston. Anyone with information on her whereabouts was also notified to contact the police.
POI hires attorney
But Miller hired well-known attorney Valerie Neita-Robertson, who accused the Jamaican Constabulary Force of engaging in a defamatory portrayal of her client.
“Our client, whose identity has been erroneously released to the media, is not a person of interest, as confirmed by the police themselves just this week,” Neita-Robertson asserted in a media release today.
She added: “You are aware that she is legally represented and despite being assured by law enforcement that she was not a person of interest, our client has faced undue intimidation as her name was thrust into the public sphere, creating unwarranted speculation in social media and every constitutional and common law due process requires you to speak to her attorney.”
According to the attorney, the unwarranted media attention has had a detrimental impact on her client’s personal and professional life.
“As legal representatives for our client, we will pursue all available legal avenues to address this injustice and seek appropriate redress for the damages caused by the unwarranted release of our client’s name as a person of interest.”
Neita-Robertson also appealed to the public to refrain from making baseless assumptions about her client’s involvement in the murder case.
