ST JAMES, Jamaica — The St James police are deeply troubled by the recent spate of killings of women in the parish, pointing to a pattern of interpersonal violence behind many of the murders.

In a string of recent killings involving women in St James, Cora Thompson, 38, was fatally shot on April 22 while selling books at the Montego Bay New Testament Church of God.

On April 29, Melissa Kerry Samnath, 35, was found dead during a birthday trip to Jamaica; a post-mortem later confirmed homicide.

On May 1, Kadene Beswick, 38, was found with multiple stab wounds at her home in Catherine Hall after neighbours heard screams. On May 9, Jassett Blake, 32, was shot and killed near People’s Arcade in Montego Bay.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday evening, commander of the St James Police Division, Eron Samuels expressed unease over the horrifying incidents.

“We are extremely concerned with the fact that so many of our incidents of late have involved women. One that we can draw close attention to is the incident involving Melissa Kerry Samnath, the American national who was married to Jamaican, Mr Dean Watson, who is a person of interest in her murder,” SSP Samuels expressed.

The senior cop said the police are particularly disturbed by the number of killings stemming from disputes between people known to each other.

“We are very saddened that many of these incidents are emanating out of interpersonal situations, and we are very appalled that we have so many violent incidents surrounding women,” he said.

“In fact, 12 of our murders since the start of the year have been due to interpersonal incidents,” he added.

Samuels said investigators have already made headway in some of the recent cases, including the killing of Beswick.

“Several of our incidents, we have made some significant breakthroughs. The incident that occurred in Catherine Hall, the person is in custody. He has been charged with the murder of the young lady,” Samuels said.

Addressing the probe into Samnath’s death, he said police are intensifying efforts to locate Watson.

“For Melissa Samnath we are making some great progress in that investigation. And the husband, Mr Dean Watson, is a person of interest. We are actively looking for him, and we are appealing to the public to help us in finding him,” Samuels said.

“He is said to be in and around the Montego Bay to St Ann parish area, and we are hoping that with the assistance of the public, he can find him very quickly,” he added.

He also urged residents to alert the police when domestic disputes or personal conflicts appear to be escalating.

“We want to appeal to the residents of St James, when you hear about these situations that are interpersonal in nature, maybe domestic violence, maybe just one on one persons having their disputes, let us know so that we can intervene to try and avoid any of these incidents evolving into murder,” he said.