Prosecution seeks death penalty for trigger man in Paulwell-Patterson murder

The prosecution aims to impose the death penalty on David Smith, who is accused of being the man who pulled the trigger in the murder of Jamaican politician Phillip Paulwell's 10-month-old daughter, Sarayah, and her mother, Toshyna Patterson.

Today, he was formally notified of this in the Home Circuit Court.

Paula Llewellyn, the director of public prosecutions, presented the request during the court proceedings, with Smith physically present alongside co-accused Leoda Bradshaw and Roland Balfour.

Smith, without legal representation, requested a lawyer, leading to an order for legal aid to be provided.

Sarayah Paulwell, just ten months old, and her 27-year-old mother, Patterson, were abducted from their residence on Gilmour Drive in St Andrew on September 9. Their burnt bodies were found a month later in Kingston.

Smith among six charged

Smith is the sixth person to be charged in the case that rocked the nation and diaspora. In January, a fifth person, Bjon Black, was charged in the kidnapping and murder case.

In a separate case, Black has also been charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, unauthorized possession of ammunition, and dealing in prohibited weapons.

Others accused and charged include Richard Brown, who pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder and was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment; and Roshane Miller, who also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap and accessory before the fact to murder and was sentenced to seven years and 10 months imprisonment.

The mastermind behind the crime, Leoda Bradshaw (a former partner of Phillip Paulwell) was also charged with capital murder and conspiracy to Kidnap. Her co-accused Roland Balfour was charged with accessory before the fact to kidnapping and accessory before the fact to murder.