A bench warrant has been issued for the arrest of a young man who reportedly killed a woman in December 2014 and hid her body under his bed, after inviting her to his home for sex.

Parish Judge Tracey-Ann Johnson gave the order on Friday after Kino Gilzene, of New Haven, in Kingston, failed to appear in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on a murder charge.

The 21-year-old labourer is accused of stabbing 22-year-old Sudeen Jackson of Portmore, St Catherine, and bashing her face with a stone at his home on December 8, 2014.

Meanwhile, Gilzene’s sister, Alicia, who was also charged with murder following allegations that she helped her brother to bury Jackson’s body in a pit latrine, has failed to take up her $300,000 bail which was re-offered.

Alicia is to return to court on September 3.

According to police report, on December 8, Kino contacted the woman by phone after he got her number from a friend and made arrangements for her to meet him at his home the next day. The woman was reportedly scheduled to visit and have sex with Kino for a fee of $3,000. Jackson, who had never seen Kino before, reportedly met up with him in Duhaney Park, went to his house, followed through with the arrangement and was paid.

However, the court heard that the woman later requested to leave, but Kino got angry and stabbed her in her chest and neck before using a stone to bash in her face.

Subsequently, the accused allegedly hid the woman’s body underneath his bed and proceeded to clean up the crime scene.

Alicia later arrived home and reportedly found the body under the bed. After making enquries, she was told by her brother that he had killed Jackson. Upon learning of the murder, Alicia allegedly sent a text message to her boyfriend and told him that her brother had killed a woman.

The following morning the accused then reportedly took the woman’s body and buried it in a pit latrine at their home. They then reportedly concocted a story and told their mother, who called the police.

Kino, when he was arrested, allegedly said that he was at home when three men — one of whom was armed with a gun — barged in with Sudeen. According to the accused, the men were cursing that Sudeen had “dissed di programme” and told her that they were going to kill her. Kino said that the men raped Sudeen and then stabbed her to death and ordered him to bury her. Alicia, in her statement, corroborated her brother’s story.