Trending in Jamaica News: Judge discharged taxi operator implicated in mob killing
A Manchester taxi operator implicated in the mob killing of Chieftin Campbell on May 6 in the town of Mandeville was freed of murder in the Manchester parish Court on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The judge transferred the case to the Coroner’s Court
On Wednesday, November 16, 2022, Parish judge Monique Harrison dismissed the murder charge against Orlando Powell. After she could not find any evidence linking Powell to the murder of Chieftin Campbell.
Sometime after mid-day on May 6, 2022, in the town of Mandeville, an angry mob attacked and beat 62-year-old Chieftin Campbell to death and left him in the street. After someone pointed him out as the person who robbed them some time ago.
The police found Campbell with a bloody nose at about 2:00 pm the same day along Manchester road. The police took him to the hospital, but he succumbed and was pronounced dead. An autopsy on the body revealed that Campbell’s death was caused by blunt-force trauma to the head and the neck.
The police launched an investigation and charged Powell with murder after CCTV footage showed him delivering several blows to the victim.
A committal hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, November 16, 2022, to determine whether the accused should stand trial in the Home Circuit Court for murder. But after examining the evidence and listening to the no-case submission made by the accused attorney, the judge agreed that there was no prima facie case. So she discharged the accused and referred the matter to the Coroner’s court, where an inquest will be held to determine who or what is responsible for Campbell’s death.
So Orlando Powell has yet to be in the clear. However, the Coroner generally rule in the accused favor. Because it is usually tricky to pinpoint the murder in mob killings unless a gun is brought into play and the shooter is identified.