BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth — A St Elizabeth man accused of illegally exhuming his father in Bigwoods district, east of here, has been arrested.

His arrest came after last Thursday’s revelation of the act by Councillor Dr Karl Whyte (Jamaica Labour Party, Pedro Plains Division) at the monthly meeting of St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation in Black River.

“In regards to the removal of a corpse from a tomb in my division, concerned family members reached out to me because they were not getting anywhere with the police in terms of helping them to apprehend the suspect, who is alleged to have removed the corpse or portions of the corpse,” Councillor Whyte told the meeting.

The councillor said the family members were disturbed by the exhumation.

He said there were two versions of what took place — one was that the man removed the corpse, while the other was that the skull was the only body part taken from the grave.

Whyte said he contacted the health inspector as the act presented a health risk, given that the body was buried in 2023.

“It was reported to me that he disclosed the location of the remains of his father, which would include the skull and other parts of the skeleton. I have been told that the remains are now in the possession of the Public Health Department, and arrangements are being made for the remains to be re-interred, and the young man — who obviously needs psychiatric help — is being treated even while he is in custody,” said Whyte.

“I am happy that the police acted and the young man is in custody being given the necessary help that he requires. The community is Bigwoods, a little area between there and Newell — that is the community where this took place. The young man who is alleged to have committed the act is from Newell, but the burial of his dad was closer to the Bigwoods community,” he added.

Head of the St Elizabeth police, Superintendent Coleridge Minto told the meeting that he was aware of the matter but was unable to speak with authority on it and as such would contact his crime officer for details.

— Garfield Myers contributed to this story