Accused ‘homeless people’ serial killer to return to court December 5
Published:Saturday | November 11, 2023 | 12:05 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
RONALDO RICKETTS, the man accused of killing several homeless people in Montego Bay between July and August this year, is to be brought back to the St James Parish Court on December 5 as his case file is still incomplete.
Presiding parish judge Kaysha Grant Pryce set the new court date for Ricketts, who is charged with four counts of murder, when his matter was mentioned on Thursday.
Ricketts was also remanded.
During Thursday’s court proceedings, Grant Pryce was informed that all four post-mortem reports in relation to Ricketts’ charges, plus several statements, have not yet been added to the prosecution’s case file.
It was also disclosed to the court that a medical report, which was to be submitted following an evaluation for Ricketts during his incarceration at the St Catherine Adult Remand Centre, is also not yet ready.
The matter was subsequently set for continuation on December 5, when Ricketts will be brought back before the court.
Ricketts was arrested by the police on August 30 in relation to the charge of abduction, following allegations that he picked up the complainant along Humber Avenue in downtown Montego Bay and drove her to Melville Hall Avenue before pulling a knife and demanding sex from her.
The woman managed to escape from the car and screamed for help, getting the attention of nearby police officers who were on patrol at the time.
Ricketts was subsequently detained and taken into custody by the officers.
It is further alleged that, while he was in custody for that incident, Ricketts confessed to the killing and wounding of several homeless people, which took place in sections of Montego Bay between July 28 and August 20 this year.
It is understood that all the victims, seven in total, were stabbed with a sharp instrument while they were sleeping.
The first two victims, both unidentified and both found on July 28, were a woman whose body was discovered on Jimmy Cliff Boulevard and a man whose body was found on Barnett Street. Following those killings, a man identified only as ‘Junior Cross’ was stabbed on July 30 and was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on August 18.
On August 9, 20-year-old Leonardo Lewis, otherwise called ‘Raheem’ or ‘Ackeem’, of a Breadfruit Road, Catherine Hall address, was found with stab wounds by residents along Church Lane and was later pronounced dead.
On August 19, an unidentified man was found with stab wounds on St Clavers Avenue but survived the incident.
The following day, another man was attacked in front of the Barnett Street Police Station, but survived, while the last victim, Ken Warren, was attacked and subsequently died.