Contrasting views about the man accused of killing 14-year-old Tianna Sutherland in Blue Mahoe, St Thomas, on Wednesday, have been voiced by residents in the quiet community.

To some people, the man, whom they called Jamie, was a strange individual who only came out of the small house in which he was staying at nights. That aroused their suspicion.

But one male resident told the Jamaica Observer that he did not believe Jamie, whom he had employed as a groundskeeper, was responsible for the teen’s murder. However, he quickly pointed out that he was not willing to swear for anybody.

Tianna, a United States citizen, was in the island spending the summer holiday with her father, who is a cop.

According to the Constabulary Communications Network (CCN), she was home on Wednesday, July 2, when it appeared she was pounced upon by a man who gained entry through an opened grille.

The police information arm said that a tussle ensued during which Tianna was stabbed multiple times. It was alleged that she was able to inflict a wound to her attacker and also alert her dad via phone. When her father arrived at the house he found her in the kitchen. She was rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The CCN said that immediate investigation by members of the St Thomas Operational Support Team led them to a concrete dwelling nearby, where they observed a trail of blood which led them to bloody clothes.

They “entered the dwelling and were attacked by a naked man armed with a machete. The police took evasive action and were able to neutralise the threat. The building was then searched and Tianna’s phone and jewellery were found on the scene. The incident was reported to the Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau and the Independent Commission of Investigations”, CCN reported.

The Observer was told that the teen’s distraught father had to be admitted to hospital on Wednesday and, based on information they had, he was still there on Thursday.

According to the residents, they first started seeing Jamie about three months ago when he began staying at a small house in close proximity to Tianna’s father’s house.

“All day he stays in the house and when it is night he comes out,” one female resident who did not wish to be named told the Observer.

“I never liked to see him over there. I heard that he is from Seaforth. He was living around here for about three months now. I told people that the boy looked like a wanted man and they said that I shouldn’t say that. I told them that my spirit was showing me a lot of things about him and they need to move him from there,” the woman told the Observer.

“I get to understand that the owner for the place have him over there. He doesn’t come out until night. Something is wrong… anytime after 6:00 pm him start walk the place with a light. When they told me about what happened I was shocked and in disbelief,” the resident shared.

The woman claimed that shortly after Tianna’s murder, Jamie came to her gate and asked her what was happening in the community.

“After the man’s daughter was killed, he came around asking what they said happened up there. He had blood on his shirt, like a finger streak of blood. Wednesday was the first time he spoke to me from he came here. I told him I didn’t know what happened. I told him all I heard was that the girl was killed. I said to him that I want them to catch the dirty John Crow that did it and assassinate him,” the woman said.

“After I said that he walked off fast and went into the house, took out something and went around the house. After he went around the house, the police came. When the police went over there he had a machete and had no clothes on. What was he going to do with machete? Some people are saying he is mad, but him nuh mad. Him just cruel,” the woman declared.

“My belly hurt me to see how the little pickney went down. I know her from she was a toddler coming up. The other day I saw her and said she was growing up nicely. She laughed and said she was just here to visit. She managed to put a wound on his hand and he died with the wound on his hand. That is why they found the blood droppings leading straight into the house,” the woman said.

The male resident who said he had employed Jamie also shared the view that the slain man was not mentally challenged.

He told the Observer that when the police came into the community following the murder, they were asking around for a man of unsound mind.

“All I know is that there is a guy of unsound mind that is always around the place. He broke into the policeman’s yard before and set the policeman’s house on fire two times last year. We saw him around the place like two days ago. He is always around the neighbourhood,” the resident said.

“The man they killed was my groundskeeper. We just hired him. He is a young youth from Seaforth. He came down looking for work and somebody from overseas recommended that we give him a work. He was in some problems with his mother and he left his mother’s house and came down here. We know him as Jamie and he is not a mad man. He was a normal guy. He was quiet but I can’t swear for anybody,” the resident said.