Bizarre twist in bursar’s murder
HOPEWELL, Hanover – The police have confirmed that Hopewell High School Principal Byron Grant is in custody in connection with Wednesday afternoon’s shooting death of the school’s bursar.
The initial report had indicated that Grant smashed through a glass door as he attempted to flee when a man gunned down 35-five-year-old Jermaine Roberts on the school compound. It was also reported that Grant was injured and was taken to a medical institution for treatment.
On Thursday, chairman of the school’s Board of Management Dalton Hastings told the Jamaica Observer that Grant was now out of hospital and recuperating.
However, on Thursday afternoon, commanding officer for the Hanover Police Division Superintendent Ian Mowatt confirmed reports from Observer sources that there was a bizarre twist in the investigation and that Grant had been taken into custody Wednesday night.
“Yes, it is confirmed,” Mowatt told the Observer. “It is in relation to the case.”
A day earlier Mowatt had appealed to witnesses to come forward to buttress footage captured by Closed Circuit Television cameras on the school compound. According to Observer sources, Grant had been instrumental in the installation of the cameras years ago.
On Thursday, before news of the principal being taken into custody became public, an emergency board meeting was held to discuss how best to navigate the trauma being experienced by the school community.
“It is tragic and the entire school family is actually in mourning, and it is taking a toll on them as staff were still on campus whilst it happened. So, you will understand the trauma that they are going through,” Hastings told the Observer.
The initial report was that the fatal shooting occurred shortly before 4:00 pm on Wednesday as Roberts was about to drive off the compound. He reportedly died on the spot.
Roberts is originally from St Mary and, up to Thursday afternoon, efforts by the school to reach his family proved futile.
His school family, meanwhile, will receive support and counselling.
“We have been in dialogue with the regional director of the Ministry of Education, the minister of education, and we are all coming together to see all the necessary support that we can give. My immediate concern now is the support for the family and the school population and that is what I am working on as we speak,” stated Hastings.
Roberts is the second individual to be murdered at the 17-year-old school. In 2010, a gunman posing as a parent shot dead 32-year-old New Testament Church of God minister Keaven Dixon as he left the compound. Dixon had gone to the school to collect his job confirmation letter to commence teaching.
