Jamaica: Police say no evidence links Delroy Coke to Shani Coke’s murder

Jamaica: A man identified as Maxwell Henry was taken into custody in connection with the mob killing. This sparked protests from residents demanding his release. Superintendent Velonique Campbell, Commanding Officer for the Trelawny Division, has appealed to residents to stop blocking roads amid the unrest.

Shani, a student of Troy Primary School also known as “Kaidra,” was found on Tuesday with her throat slashed on a dirt track in bushes in the Tyre district near Troy. She is believed to have been raped before she was killed.

Her grandmother, Merle Williams, who raised her from birth, said she had sent Shani to a nearby shop around 3:30 p.m. that day. When the child did not return an hour later, Williams alerted residents. The community began searching before her body was found.

Hours later, an enraged mob attacked Coke and beat him to death. His father, Maxwell Coke, was also assaulted and remains hospitalized.

Shani’s aunt, Julecia Williams, said she remains convinced Coke was responsible for her niece’s death, regardless of the police findings. She said Shani had been expected to spend the summer with her in Falmouth.

Another resident, Kimberly Dawkins, said she had lived in fear of Coke for years. She recalled reporting him to the Warsop police after finding him peeping into her home.

Police said Coke, who was not related to Shani, was a convicted sexual offender with arrests dating back more than a decade. These included a 2014 buggery arrest in Portland, a 2017 arrest for sexually touching a child in Trelawny, and a 2019 buggery conviction in Trelawny, for which he served five years before his release last August.

Investigations into both Shani’s death and the mob killing remain ongoing, police said.