Waves of “satisfactory relief” washed over Steve Walker last Thursday as a jury returned a “unanimous guilty verdict” in the trial of the two men who in 2018 viciously murdered his brother Delroy Walker in the Tower Isle, St Mary, dream house where he had planned to retire after decades of working in the United Kingdom.

“For me personally it was a relief, but a satisfactory relief, because what they did to my brother was totally unnecessary, mindless and just pure hate. My brother was in Jamaica, but he wasn’t old, he wasn’t ill, and he didn’t have an accident. These two men went onto his property, went into his house with an intention to kill my brother, which they did,” Walker told the Jamaica Observer during a family interview following the verdict.

For the close-knit family, the verdict for their brother, who was the first-born son, was even more of a ‘‘bittersweet gift” as it was handed down on the birthday of their mother who is in her mid-90s.

The family, in expressing gratitude to “everyone who played a role in securing the conviction of two dangerous and remorseless criminals”, said the outcome was an odd tribute to their brother’s enduring love affair with his island home.

“For Delroy, the phrase “living the dream” truly came to life when, at age 62, after decades of hard work in the UK, he fulfilled his long-held dream of purchasing a retirement home in the land of his birth. But just one year later that dream was shattered,” the family pointed out.

“Our family is overjoyed that justice has finally been served. Delroy Walker deeply loved his birthplace, Jamaica. Throughout his life Delroy regularly returned, drawn back by the sunshine, the sea, the vibrant culture, and the chance to reconnect with beloved family and friends. Although Delroy made a life in the UK, we always said he may have left Jamaica, but Jamaica never left him,” they told the Observer.

The family, in the meantime, in reflecting on the wait to get justice for their loved one, chafed at the process which they said was “marred by repeated delays”, the high point of which was December 2022 when a dozen family members from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Jamaica left the St Mary Circuit Court dejected after being told the trial could not proceed because the defendants were without legal representation.

“Between December 2022 and March 2024, there were several preliminary hearings and adjournments. In March 2024, the case was rescheduled, but once again it was delayed due to the defendants not having legal representation. Finally, in July 2024, the trial began… it has been long, stressful and emotional,” the family said.

“Delroy was murdered in April 2018 and the two defendants were charged in May 2018. Yet it has taken until April 2025 — seven years later — before justice was achieved. Delays only serve the defendants. Delays jeopardise the integrity of cases and increase the risk that justice might never be served. Witnesses may become unavailable; relocate overseas (as occurred in this case); or may no longer be traceable (again as occurred in this case). Memories may fade. Critical details may be lost with time,” they pointed out.

“Do victims and their families deserve to endure years of uncertainty whilst cases are being stalled time and time again? Is this the kind of judicial system Jamaica deserves? We think not,” they said further.

Now, with that hurdle behind them, their eyes are trained on the July 25 sentencing date.

“We ask that the maximum sentence be imposed — not only as a measure of justice, but as a message that such mindless acts of violence will not be tolerated. No sentence — however long — can bring Delroy back. However, we hope the court will fully recognise the enormity of this loss. The pain inflicted was not just upon our family, but upon every person who loved and was touched by Delroy,” the family said in the statement shared with the Observer ahead of the interview.

In the meantime, the family said though their faith was shaken in Jamaica, they cannot betray their brother’s love for the island.

“We always know that Jamaica was a beautiful place, Jamaica is an island paradise but with its problems. The year my brother’s life was taken, we had seven other British returnees’ lives taken… changes need to be done. I hope that some of the work we have done since our brother’s life was taken will help change that narrative. The majority of Jamaican people want what’s right, that means a State that’s law-abiding, that can flourish; but when you have individuals who feel they can take advantage of those who go overseas and return and think they are a passport for money, that needs to change… that has to change,” Steve, Delroy’s youngest brother, said.

In the meantime, he said the single most satisfying factor from the senseless tragedy remains the one thing the two convicted men were unable to wrest from Walker even as he took his last breath.

“I loved my brother; his passion, his heart was Jamaica — the one thing, despite us losing him in such a really tragic way and the shock when the news first came to us. I could have a little smile, a tempered smile, because at least he achieved a dream. The place that he had been talking about for so long; and not many people can actually say ‘This is what I want, and I achieved it…’ at least he had that dream, and he achieved, it,” Steve said resolutely.

The prosecution’s case hinged on oral statements by the two men — Dwayne Barton and Davian Edwards — when they were brought in by the police during the investigation into the crime and DNA evidence found at the scene. The evidence led by the Crown showed that both men were present at Walker’s home at the time of the murder. According to prosecutors, the evidence showed that Barton was engaged in a physical fight with Walker and “possibly inflicted the fatal wound to his chest”.

According to the prosecution, while the wound to his chest was the stab that actually killed Walker, he had 19 other wounds — which were not fatal — to his face, head, fingers, hand and knees.

According to the evidence, Edwards participated in the killing. Both men gave unsworn statements during the trial with Barton denying that he made an oral statement to the police and Edwards admitting that what the police said about what transpired was the truth. The jury, after deliberating for just over an hour, returned the unanimous guilty verdict in the matter which was presided over by Chief Justice Bryan Sykes.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions (Acting) Lenster Lewis-Meade and Crown Counsel Ashley Innis.

Barton was represented by attorney Carl McDonald, while Edwards was represented by attorney Everald Webster.