Jamaican businessman convicted of murdering girlfriend and five family members

A 50-year-old businessman will be sentenced on April 12 after he was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend and five members of her family, including four children, 12 years ago.

On Tuesday, Justice Bertram Morrison turned down a request from attorney Carlton Colman that his client, Michael McLean wanted to forego the mitigation hearing and head straight to sentencing.

“The court doesn’t operate like that,” the judge said following the unanimous verdict that was handed down in the Home Circuit Court.

McLean was found guilty of murdering his former girlfriend Terry-Ann Mohammed; her son, Jessie O’Gilvie; as well as her niece, Patrice Martin-McCool and her children, Lloyd McCool, Jihad McCool and Sean Chin in 2006.

Throats slashed

Five of the victims’ throats were slashed while the sixth, who was a six-year-old girl, was smothered and buried in a shallow grave.

The seven-member jury deliberated for nearly four hours before reaching the unanimous verdict in the trial that lasted five weeks. During the trial, the accused maintained his innocence, claiming that the six people had been killed by gunmen.

Claims attacked by gunmen

In his unsworn testimony, he admitted that he left his restaurant on February 25 with Mohammed and Jihad, but claimed when he reached Mohammed’s home he was attacked by gunmen who killed her and forced him to take them to another location where he and Mohammed had reportedly hidden drugs and cash and the men buried the child there in a shallow grave.

According to McLean, the gunmen killed Mohammed because they were after one of her relatives who had stolen guns and drugs.

One of worst cases prosecuted

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Paula Llewellyn, later described the trial as one of worst cases she has prosecuted in her 30 years on the job.

“I think it is a very, very tragic case. It is the sort of case that caused sleepless nights for prosecution and I, and think I can speak for defense counsel, it would have caused him sleepless nights ,” she added.

But she praised the law enforcement and investigators for their work given the fact that “McLean was able to benefit from the fact that system has to make sure that, at all material times, he is given benefit of the doubt.