Cop says he heard colleague confess to murder

A police witness yesterday corroborated evidence given last week that Constable Rushton Hamilton confessed to killing Jhaneel Goulbourne, a 14-year-old girl with whom he is alleged to have had a relationship.

Constable Newton Bentley, who was being held on a charge of carnal abuse at the Central Police Station, told jurors in the Home Circuit Court trial that he heard Hamilton on two separate occasions confessing to the crime.

According to Bentley, he was in the cell in October 2008 when he heard Hamilton telling an "Indian man" about the killing.

"Mi tek de pickney out to the sea and kill har and throw har off," Bentley told the court that Hamilton said. "There was something about a block — about using a block to sink her."

Bentley said that some time after, he overheard Hamilton confessing to another cellmate that he murdered the girl at sea and dumped her body.

He said Hamilton told this inmate that the girl was begging each of the men who had taken her out to sea not to kill her.

"At one stage they decide to throw her off alive, but one of them said that would be too cruel, she would suffer too much. They placed a block around her. They, at least one of them, decided to kill her," Bentley testified.

He said also that he heard Hamilton telling the cellmate that his girlfriend had washed his bloody clothes after "him kill the pickney" and that the girlfriend "will not let him down".

Bentley's evidence is in line with what a witness testified last week about Hamilton's alleged confession of killing the girl.

However, the defence is contending that there is a conspiracy against Hamilton.

Under cross-examination by Peter Champagnie, Bentley said that Hamilton had raised with him a concern of undercover police being in his cell.

"A few days after Hamilton came in the cell he asked me if I knew everyone on the block because his lawyer told him to beware because he understands that they are going to be putting undercover police in the cell to find out things," Hamilton said.

Bentley denied suggestions from Champagnie that he fabricated the evidence about Hamilton's alleged confession.

Champagnie: "You made up a story?"

Bentley: "No, that's not true."

Champagnie: "You're a witness of untruth."

Goulbourne was kidnapped at the gate of her Harbour View, St Andrew home in 2008. The teen disappeared following a complaint to the police, which led to Hamilton being charged with carnal abuse.