A child’s pain
Omar Collymore’s daughter chastises him for killing her mother
THE teenage daughter of Omar Collymore has chastised her father, telling him that she hopes he will develop a bitter feeling in his heart and that when he sleeps all he will think about is the hurt he has caused her and her brother by orchestrating the murder of their mother, Simone Campbell-Collymore.
“I hope that you listen to this and have a bitter feeling in your heart and go to sleep thinking about what you have caused your children to go through these past six years and what kind of father you are,” she stated in a written statement that was read out in the Home Circuit Court on Thursday.
This sitting was the beginning of the sentencing hearing for Collymore and three other men who were found guilty of the January 2, 2018 murder of Simone and taxi operator Winston Walters.
Justice Leighton Pusey, the presiding judge, should hand down the sentences for all four men by early next week.
Simone and Walters were killed by two gunmen outside the Forest Ridge Apartment complex in Red Hills, St Andrew.
The court found that Collymore and one of his co-accused, Michael Adams, conspired to have Simone murdered, while Shaquilla Edwards and Dwayne Pink — the other two accused in the matter — helped to surveil Simone and relay messages to the others regarding her whereabouts.
Prosecutor Andrea Martin Swaby recommended to Justice Pusey that each of the men receive a sentence of life in prison without being eligible for parole until after 45 to 50 years.
Collymore’s teenage daughter, in her written statement, also accused her father of trying to physically hurt her and her brother.
She said her father robbed her of her role model — her mother.
“I am still trying to repair and forgive you. I know we weren’t close because you pushed me away and loved my brother and left me out. I had an amazing life, and so did you, but because of selfishness you had to hurt and kill my role model. I am writing this, hoping that God helps you to find him and follow his words and get the mental and physical help,” the daughter said in her victim impact statement.
“I am getting better but my brother, on the other hand, is not so well. He is not showing any emotions and deep down inside I know that he is hurting to know that his role model hurt his mom. I thank God that I had my family with me every step of the way because your side of the family has not been in touch or asked how their grandchildren are doing, which is crazy to me. I still cannot believe that my mother is not the first person you would have hurt. You even wanted to hurt your own kids. My last name isn’t even my last name,” the child wrote.
She complained that it takes a toll on her when she sees other children with their parents while she has to live with the fact that her father had her mother killed and is in jail.
“My mother was an amazing, loving and caring and open-hearted person. She loved and cared for her family and everyone around. It is truly sad. You took away the rock of the family, the light of our family, and much more. I have been in therapy about 10 times because I have bad dreams or keep thinking that people are going to hurt me like you did to my mom. I went to my school dance and saw the many moms taking pictures and fixing their daughters’ hair while the dads cried,” she said, before expressing gratitude to her relatives, who have been a pillar of strength in her life in the absence of her parents.
Victim impact statements prepared by the wife of Walters and the father of Simone were also read out in court.
The sentencing hearing will continue on Tuesday when defence attorneys will continue putting arguments forward in favour of their clients.
Omar Collymore, who conspired to have Simone murdered.