RESIDENTS of Arcadia in St Thomas yesterday expressed relief when they learnt that the man accused of the murder of Tashoy Barrett, 19, was in police custody.

The accused, Odaine Keyes, 29, was charged with murder yesterday after he surrendered to the police in the company of a relative on Sunday.

Barrett, a HEART Trust/NTA student, was found in a pool of blood with her throat slashed at Keyes’ house in Grayston, also in St Thomas, last Monday. It is believed that she was killed from the night before.

Keyes fled the area and was in hiding for almost a week.

When the Jamaica Observer visited the community last week, residents said they were living in fear following the brutal killing.

Yesterday, Barrett’s father, Kenneth, said that he was happy that that Keyes was in custody.

However, the grief-stricken father of four said that his daughter’s alleged killer should not be consuming taxpayers’ money.

Head of Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Corporate Communications Unit, Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay, yesterday confirmed that Keyes was charged with murder. However, she was unable to say when he is expected to appear in court.

— Racquel Porter