CLARKS TOWN, Trelawny — Police have charged 42-year-old Marvia Patterson with the murder of four-year-old Natasha Brown, whose head and body were found in a 25-ft sinkhole in the farming community of Duanvale in the parish last week.

Commanding Officer for Trelawny Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Noel Christie told the Jamaica Observer Monday that Patterson, who also resides in Duanvale, was charged with the crime on Sunday.

She is booked to appear in the Falmouth Resident Magistrate’s Court on Friday, SSP Christie said.

Patterson was taken into police custody last week Tuesday following the shocking revelation by teachers at the Duanvale Basic School, where Natasha attended, that she did not report for school that day.

It is alleged that Patterson was the last person seen in the company of the girl before she went missing.

Meanwhile, the alleged murder weapon was retrieved from the sinkhole on Saturday.

“Following our intelligence and with the help of residents we retrieved the knife that we believe is the murder weapon,” said SSP Christie.

Observer sources said the weapon was retrieved by Duanvale resident Marvin Grossett, who on Wednesday pulled Natasha’s body and head — that were wrapped in a black garbage bag — from the sinkhole.