Simone Campbell-Collymore's shooter staked out apartment complex night before murder, witness testifies

One of the shooters allegedly involved in the murder of businesswoman Simone Campbell-Collymore slept in a car at her apartment complex the night before she was shot 19 times.

The shooter in question was also reportedly observed leaving the car the following morning and knocking on the door of her husband's apartment.

The revelation was made today during the testimony of a security guard who worked at the complex.

The 32-year-old businesswoman and her taxi driver Winston Walters were killed outside her Forest Ridge apartment complex in Red Hills, St Andrew, on January 2, when two men sprayed the vehicle with bullets close to 4 p.m.

Her husband, Omar Collymore, and his co-defendants Michael Adams, Dewayne Pink, and Shaquile Edwards are currently on trial for the double murder.

The security guard, who was working a 12-hour shift which started at 7 a.m. on New Year's Day that year, testified that around 3 a.m. he was doing a routine patrol on the complex when he noticed a light blue Toyota car parked next to one of the car parks on the compound.

The witness said he had never seen the car before and became suspicious as it was not customary for a vehicle to be parked on the property like that and so he went to check.

When he got closer to the car, he said he noticed a man sleeping in it and when he bounced the vehicle, the man raised his head before lowering it.

According to the witness, he got a good look at the man as the area was very bright owing to the streetlight and fluorescent bulbs on the compound.

He described the man as having a brown complexion and appearing to be bleaching with tattoos on his lower hands.

The guard also told the court that he recorded the licence plate number and when he checked the log book he saw the name of the driver and that the person came to visit Collymore.

The guard said after pondering for about 10 minutes about the situation he resumed his patrol and returned to the guard house.

About 5:30 a.m. that morning, the guard said he went to a section of the property and positioned himself so that he could observe who was coming out of the car.

Half an hour later, the guard said he heard the door being opened and saw when the person exited the vehicle.

However, he said as he approached the man, he walked in the direction of apartment two and knocked on the door.

The witness said he immediately walked up to the pool area and after observing nothing unusual he returned to his post.

Hours later after departing work, the guard said he was home at 4:30 p.m. when he got a call and went to the premises where he saw several police officers and guards.

After arriving, he said he saw that security personnel were viewing security footage and observed that it was a recording of the shooting.

Describing what he saw, he said, “I viewed a dark blue four-door taxi approaching the gate. Following behind were two motorcycles with two pillions. When the vehicle approached the gate and the female guard was approaching the gate to see who it was, the bikes approached the car without warning and the two pillions approached both sides of the car and opened fire.”

Asked if he could see the shooters, the guard said he could see the men in their entirety, their clothes and faces.

“The first shooter that came on the driver's side was the same individual I saw earlier that morning coming out of the Blue Wish and approaching Mr Collymore's apartment,” the guard recalled.

He also remembered that the shooter was wearing the same clothes that he saw him wearing earlier.

The trial continues on Monday.

- Tanesha Mundle

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