Murder charge in Kingston teen stabbing as police probe deaths in St Elizabeth, St Ann and Montego Bay hospital case

Police have charged 28-year-old carpenter Kimar Mitchell, of a Kingston 17 address, with murder after 13-year-old Chameleia Paul died in hospital on Tuesday, June 9. Mitchell is accused of stabbing the grade seven student during a dispute at the home she shared with her mother, after Chameleia reportedly stepped in as an argument between the two adults turned physical. He was charged the following day and is due before the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on July 17.

Investigators are also linking the death of 40-year-old Kadisa Mloud in Pepper, St Elizabeth, with the apparent suicide of 50-year-old Maurice Fennel in St Ann. Police said Mloud, a pharmacy technician in Mandeville, was last seen getting into a vehicle on Tuesday afternoon. A senior Manchester police source said Fennel was treated as the suspect after investigators traced the vehicle and identified its owner.

Police later said Fennel, a licensed firearm holder and loss prevention officer, was found dead in Brown’s Town, St Ann, after residents heard explosions about 6:00 a.m. Thursday. Senior Superintendent Carlos Russell clarified that Fennel was not a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. St Elizabeth police said Mloud’s body was discovered after 9:00 a.m. in a cul-de-sac with injuries including what appeared to be a gunshot wound. Former employer Dane Thomas described her as a trusted worker and said her death was painful for staff, customers and relatives, including her 11-year-old daughter.

In Montego Bay, relatives of 62-year-old tour operator Michael Neita are demanding answers after he died at Cornwall Regional Hospital. His daughter, Desia Chambers, said he spent about 22 hours on a chair in the accident and emergency department after arriving on May 25 with severe chest, arm, abdominal and back pain.

Chambers said the family was first told he died from a heart attack, then received a death certificate citing fatal sepsis and a urinary tract infection, with no post-mortem required. The Western Regional Health Authority expressed condolences and said it would support the family’s request for an autopsy and conduct a full investigation.