Adventists urge person of interest in murder to surrender
THE Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica yesterday condemned the wanton abuse and murder of Jamaicans, particularly crimes being perpetrated against the country’s women and children.
“We use this medium to unequivocally condemn what appears to be the recent cold and brutal murder in Manchester of yet another female member of the community as reported in the media,” Pastor Everett Brown, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica, is quoted as saying in a release to the media.
“We support the security forces in their appeal to the person of interest named in this matter to immediately turn himself over to the police,” he continued.
The woman who was killed in Manchester is 25-year-old Khyhymn Campbell. Her body was found on the back seat of a car in a cooler box on the Winston Jones Highway last week.
Police say the body was nude and had what appeared to be cuts to the back and front of the neck and face. The throat had also been slashed, the police say.
Linton Stephenson, also called Gary Stephenson, 59, a deacon at the Mandeville Seventh-day Adventist Church who had been on parole for killing his wife in St Mary and was wanted for assault and illegal possession of firearm, is now being sought as a person of interest in the matter.
“We further call upon all Jamaicans, including members of our church, who can assist the security forces in bringing perpetrators of crime to justice to immediately come forward and supply the authorities with whatever information they have through the established confidential channels,” Pastor Brown said.
Seventh-day Adventists, according to the release, affirm the dignity and worth of each human being and decry all forms of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and acts of crime and violence.
“Our sympathies and prayers go out to the families and friends of all the victims of crime and we continue to pledge our support to the police in their crime prevention activities,” the pastor added.
The Seventh-day Adventist church in Jamaica said it is committed to making its church a safe place for children, adolescents, men, and women.
“We take seriously our responsibility to minimise the risk of violence and sexual abuse against individuals, especially children in the congregational setting,” the release said.