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March 29, 2025
Anguish Relatives of woman killed in US await outcome of second trial
FRIENDSHIP, Trelawny — Distraught after a first attempt at justice ended in a mistrial, relatives of Jolesia Nelson-Fairweather say they are in agony as they relive details of her death in a new trial that began March 24.
“The first court case was gruesome. They left nothing to the imagination,” said one of Nelson-Fairweather’s cousins who lives in Jamaica.
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“The whole family is depressed,” added the woman who asked not to be identified by name.
Nelson-Fairweather was fatally shot at a house on Maryland Park Drive in Capitol Heights, Maryland, USA, about 7:50 am on August 21, 2022. Her husband Orville Fairweather was charged with murder at common law, assault in the first degree and use of a handgun in committing a violent crime. During the first jury trial at Prince George’s Circuit Court in Maryland in June 2023, his attorney argued self-defence. Fairweather remains in custody.
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Nelson-Fairweather’s cousin said the deceased woman’s father, who is in the United States and is attending court, is struggling with the thought of what he will have to go through again.
The family is particularly concerned about the toll all of this is taking on Nelson-Fairweather’s three children — two daughters with her husband and a son from a previous relationship.
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Relatives said Mothers’ Day is a particularly challenging time for the older daughter, who is nine years old. Every effort is being made to shield her three-year-old sister from the details but Nelson-Fairweather’s 20-year-old son has no such luxury. The retrial began the day after his birthday.
“He is depressed, just going through the motions. He hasn’t found his footing. He is angry and sometimes just sits by his mother’s grave to talk to her and cry,” said Nelson-Fairweather’s cousin.
A dental assistant from Trelawny, Nelson-Fairweather emigrated to the United States when she was about 13 years old but visited Jamaica often as an adult.
It was during one of those visits that she met Fairweather — who is from Samuel Prospect, Trelawny. They wed in 2014 and he joined her in the US.
One relative who lives in the US said they are optimistic the second trial will give the family closure.
“We need her to rest in peace,” she told the Observer.
She described Nelson-Fairweather as someone who gave back to her Trelawny community, and would often donate school supplies to children during her summer visits.
“We want the world to know Jojo was kind, caring and loving to all those she came across; we just want justice for her. She will forever be loved and tremendously missed,” she said.
“She would have celebrated her 38th birthday on March 29th,” her cousin added.
