PM speaks out against violence against children amid guilty plea in murder of Danielle Rowe

Amid today's guilty plea by the woman charged for the stabbing death of eight-year-old schoolgirl Danielle Rowe, Prime Minister Andrew Holness says as a society Jamaicans should stand against attacks on the nation's children.

Kayodi Satchell pleaded guilty to murder and child stealing.

Rowe's killing in June last year had sparked national outrage.

The deceased, who was a second-grade student at Braeton Primary and Infant School in Portmore, St Catherine, was abducted on June 8 last year from her school.

The child was seen later that day with her throat slashed on Roosevelt Avenue in St Andrew.

She was rushed by persons in the area to the Bustamante Hospital for Children, where she died two days later.

The post-mortem report revealed the child died from an incised wound to the neck.

Reacting to today's court development, the Prime Minister called Rowe's death barbaric and welcomed the guilty plea in the case.

“I commend the police for conducting a thorough investigation and compiling strong evidence which led to the perpetrator being taken into custody and pleading guilty."

Holness stated that the Government remains committed to reducing incidents of violent crimes, particularly against the nation's children.

“Upon my return to the island from the UN this afternoon, I was briefed by the [police] commissioner that there is an approximately 17.8 percent reduction in murders year to date. We will continue to aggressively pursue further significant reductions in murders."

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