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Leoda stays in jail for Christmas
Leoda Bradshaw's face is covered with two masks as she leaves the Supreme Court building in downtown Kingston on Friday, October 13, 2023 after being slapped with two capital murder charges, as well as conspiracy to murder and kidnapping charges in the case of Phillip Paulwell's 10-month-old daughter, Sarayah, and her mother, Toshyna Patterson (Photo: Naphtali Junior)
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BY CANDICE HAUGHTON Staff reporter haughtonc@jamaicaobserver.com  
December 2, 2023

Leoda stays in jail for Christmas

Leoda Bradshaw and co-accused Roland Balfour, who were implicated in the murder of parliamentarian Phillip Paulwell’s 10-month-old daughter and her mother, will be spending Christmas behind bars.

This comes after a Supreme Court judge on Friday ordered that they be remanded until March 6, pending the submission of a number of outstanding documents from the prosecution.

Bradshaw and Balfour stood stoically before the presiding judge, Justice Vinette Graham Allen, when they were remanded.

During the proceedings, prosecutor Andrea Martin Swaby indicated that the outstanding documents include the forensic material and certificate as well as statements from investigators.

Leoda Bradshaw’s defence attorneys Deborah Martin (left) and Kelly Hamilton speaking with reporters outside the court on Friday.

Justice Graham Allen ordered that on or before January 31 the statements from investigators should be submitted. The forensic material and certificate were ordered to be submitted on or before February 29.

Bradshaw, who shares a child with Paulwell and is a United States Navy culinary specialist, has been charged with two counts of conspiracy to murder, two counts of conspiracy to kidnapping, two counts of kidnapping, and two counts of capital murder.

Meanwhile, Balfour, a 30-year-old assistant graphic designer of a Kingston address and Bradshaw’s cousin, has been charged with two counts of conspiracy to murder, two counts of conspiracy to kidnapping and misprision of felony.

On September 9, 2023 news came that 27-year-old Toshyna Patterson and her daughter, Sarayah Paulwell, were feared abducted.

Bradshaw was taken into police custody on October 5, 2023 and the following day Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey confirmed that she was a prime suspect in the abduction of the two and would face charges.

Prosecutors say the mother and daughter were taken to Warieka Hills where they were shot and killed and their bodies burned.

Two other men implicated in the murders have since been convicted, after they accepted a plea deal from prosecutors. They are Richard Brown, otherwise called Richie, and 29-year-old Roshane Miller.

On Friday, Justice Graham Allen showed her displeasure at not being provided with the necessary documents which, she said, would allow her to be able to conduct her duties fairly.

This was revealed when defence attorney Deborah Martin requested that the judge make an order for the transcript of hearing and sentencing, as well as the plea negotiation agreement for Brown and Miller, because they are relevant to her client’s case.

Expressing her irritation at the prosecution, the judge said, “The court has nothing… I have to understand the context in which I am working. I can’t just make an order in a vacuum like this. No! I have nothing to assist me to understand that. The role of the court is to ensure that the proceedings are conducted in a fair and proper manner to both sides, that’s my role. I can’t conduct anything fair when I have nothing… This case management court has nada!”

Responding, Martin Swaby said: “It’s unfortunate that you’re not seized of a bundle, because notices and all attached statements together with a voluntary bill of indictment were filed in the Supreme Court in relation to this matter, My Lady.”

However, Justice Graham Allen replied, “This is my first encounter with this case… voluntary bills of indictment, when they come down, as I understand it, would be in this court.”

Speaking on the transcripts requested by Martin, the prosecutor revealed that the hearing and sentencing for Brown and Miller were in-camera cases, which means the public was not privy to those details, making it more difficult for the lawyer to get the documents.

However, Martin Swaby said in relation to the other two accused individuals who were before the court under the Plea Negotiations and Agreements Act of 2017, those proceedings were done in-camera, and those documents are under seal by order of the court.

Interjecting, Justice Graham Allen said, “If they are sealed by the court, they are sealed by the court. How then could a judge of a concurrent jurisdiction sit in appeal of another judge in a concurrent jurisdiction? It would be very improper of this judge.”

Answering the judge, Martin said the defence team was unaware that the documents had been sealed. In spite of this, Martin stated that she remains steadfast in her desire to have sight of the documents and will be using other methods to acquire them.

“We are absolutely ignorant of what transpired, save for press releases that have been published by the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions] telling the public what she chooses to tell them while we are in ignorance,” the attorney said.

Brown, of a Kingston address, was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to murder, two counts of conspiracy to kidnapping, and two counts of kidnapping and is now serving a minimum of 20 years in prison before being eligible for parole. Miller, an air-conditioning technician, was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to murder, two counts conspiracy to kidnapping, and misprision of felony and is serving seven years and 10 months in prison.

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