WESTERN BUREAU — The murder case against a 16-year-old St James boy and his 22-year-old cohort, Dean Smith, could not progress this week because the case file was incomplete.

They are charged with the February 9 murder of the teen’s cousin, Natalie Sterling.

The case, which was brought before the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate’s Court for the first time on Monday, has been set for mention on March 27 when the ballistic and post mortem reports should have been added to the file.

Until then the two accused men, who are also facing charges of wounding and illegal possession of firearm and ammunition, have been remanded in police custody.

On February 9 Stephen Baker, the deceased woman’s boyfriend, reportedly went to her home at Mount Salem in the parish to take her to the supermarket.

While walking toward the car in which her boyfriend waited, Sterling was reportedly shot by her teenage cousin who was walking behind her. He later approached the car where he opened fire on Baker before fleeing the scene.

Sterling died on the spot while her injured boyfriend managed to drive to the Mount Salem police station. From there he was taken to the nearby Cornwall Regional Hospital for treatment.

On March 7 the police, acting on information received, went to a shop at Moore Park where they apprehended the 16 year-old perpetrator, who later reportedly gave them a caution statement.

In that statement he allegedly admitted his guilt, saying he had killed his cousin and injured her boyfriend because they did not have a good relationship. He reportedly added that it was Smith who had given him the gun.

At the time, Smith was in police custody on a charge of illegal possession of firearm and ammunition in connection with the same gun that ballistic testing had found to be the murder weapon in the February 9 shooting.

Smith and the teen were subsequently slapped with charges of murder and wounding while the 16-year-old was additionally charged with illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.