Jamaican husband of dead Canadian woman charged – more serious charge pending
Police have charged the husband of Jaeda Pauline Whitehead, the Canadian who died while visiting the island earlier this month.
Rory Palmer, a 28-year-old fisherman from Shearers Heights in Portland Cottage, Clarendon, was charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Palmer is to appear in the Clarendon Parish Court in May Pen on Thursday, June 1.
Whitehead, a 28-year-old school board employee from Toronto, Ontario, died on May 13 after she reportedly came to visit Palmer in the Shearers Heights community to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
READ: Family seeks answers after Canadian woman dies while visiting husband in Jamaica
A preliminary autopsy result indicated that Whitehead died from a blunt force injury to the head.
READ: Canadian woman on visit to Jamaican husband died from head injury – autopsy
“We are still waiting on the toxicology results to determine if he will be charged for the homicide,” Superintendent Carlos Russell, head of the Clarendon division, told OBSRVER ONLINE.
Whitehead reportedly arrived on the island two weeks before her death.
Police reported that the day before she died, she and her husband had a dispute which got physical.
It is alleged that a fan was thrown at the Canadian, and her head slammed into a wall. Whitehead reportedly left the home and went to stay at her friends’ house in the same community.
While there, her friends reportedly advised her to visit the hospital, however, Whitehead expressed that she did not wish to go and refused to report the incident to the police.
Police said while at the house, Whitehead went to sleep sometime after 3 pm, and her friends observed that her head was swollen and tried to convince her to visit the doctor, but she refused.
Further reports indicate that around 5:30 pm, the friends returned home and discovered Whitehead lying in the same position they left her. They realised she was not moving and reported the matter to the Lionel Town Police Station.
The police responded and saw Whitehead’s lifeless body lying face down on a bed. She was clad in a white T-shirt and blue shorts jeans pants. Swelling was observed on the face and neck, and she had what appeared to be blood stains on her hand,
The body was transported to the Lionel Town Hospital, where it was confirmed dead.
