Soldier freed of double murder
Published:Saturday | July 28, 2018 | 4:52 PM
A Jamaica Defence Force soldier who was arrested and charged for allegedly killing a St Andrew couple has been freed.
Ricardo Scotchman walked free from the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston on Thursday after the main prosecution witness admitted, while giving evidence, that he lied in a statement he gave police investigators.
In the statement, the witness said Scotchman – who he had known before – confided in him that he killed Junnie Hamilton and her male companion, Shakiel Simpson, in St Andrew on July 4, 2015.
However, during cross-examination by Scotchman’s attorney Peter Champagnie, the witness claimed he was pressured by police investigators to name the soldier.
It was also revealed that the witness has a case before the court.
The seven-member jury was directed to return a formal verdict of not guilty after prosecutors conceded that, under the circumstances, they could not proceed with the case.
Scotchman spent one year and seven months in custody awaiting trial.
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