SERIAL KILLER?

WESTERN BUREAU:

A 25-year-old Westgate Hills man is believed to have attacked seven homeless people in Montego Bay, St James, killing five of them and injuring two while they slept in the space of less than a month.

The dastardly crimes, which claimed the lives of four females and a male, took place in sections of the Second City between July 28 and August 20.

The suspected perpetrator, who was held by cops on Wednesday afternoon after reportedly attempting to rape a woman in the Corinaldi Avenue area of Montego Bay, reportedly confessed to the killings after he was taken into custody.

He was also on bail for forcible abduction.

Highly placed sources in the Jamaica Constabulary Force told The Gleaner that some of the bloody crimes in the murderous rampage were captured on CCTV systems throughout the city.

The first victim was a woman who was found dead along Jimmy Cliff Boulevard on Friday, July 28.

That same night, a man was stabbed to death near a gas station on Barnett Street.

The third victim, who was known as ‘Junior Cross’, was stabbed on July 30 and taken to hospital for medical treatment. He succumbed to his injuries on August 18.

On August 9, it is believed that the suspect continued the bloodbath, stabbing an unidentified male, before wounding another on August 19. The latter victim survived.

All the victims were stabbed with a sharp instrument while they slept.

Brazen attack

The suspect reportedly became so brazen that he attacked David Johnson in front of the Barnett Police Station on August 20. Johnson survived the onslaught. Another man, Ken Warren, became the seventh victim.

The 25-year-old suspect, who remains in custody, was reportedly posing as a taxi operator on Wednesday when an unsuspecting woman boarded his car about 2:30 p.m.

He allegedly diverted from the normal route, lying to the passenger that he had another person to pick up along Melvin Hall Avenue, off Corinaldi Avenue. It is further alleged that he then locked the car doors and pulled a knife before demanding that the woman have sex with him.

The quick-thinking woman reportedly told him that she would first need to urinate before complying with his demands. When he opened the door and allowed her to exit, she ran and screamed for help.

Several cops, who were in the area on a tour with a government minister, came to her rescue.

Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson commended the cops for their quick response.

“Due to good police work on the part of the St James police, we now have the perpetrator in custody. [He is] still being questioned and will be charged soon,” Anderson said late on Thursday.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com