KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Lay Magistrates’ Association of Jamaica (LMAJ) has condemned the tragic killing of 15-year-old Jamila Cole, who was brutally raped and bludgeoned while her mother and another female relative were harmed during an invasion at their house in Trelawny on Sunday.

“This dastardly, abhorrent, repugnant, and despicable act of violence against Jamila is repulsive and brings into question the state of the nation’s mental well-being,” the LMAJ said in a statement on Wednesday.

Unable to survive the brutality inflicted upon her, Cole, a student of Albert Town High School and resident of Cotton Tree in Albert Town died from her injuries on Monday.

The culprits reportedly used blunt instruments to beat the three females in their heads. Another child, who was at the house at the time of the incident, was not harmed.

READ: Teenager raped, beaten to death during home invasion

The Association pointed to other brutal killings involving women and children, adding that the murders “also remind us of where we have come as a society”.

“The LMAJ believes that this act of violence brings into stark focus and memory the murder of five members of one family by the now-convicted murderer, Rushane Barrett, who also hailed from Trelawny. The brutal slaying of eight-year-old Braeton Primary school student Daniel Rowe – whose throat was slashed and body thrown from a car and left for dead – also reminds us of where we have come as a society,” the LMAJ added, pledging its full support and efforts aimed at cauterising violent actions against the nation’s women and children.

Up to July 29, the latest data available from the police show there have been 10 murders in Trelawny so far this year. That is 60 per cent less than the 25 reported for the corresponding period last year. There were nine rapes reported for the period, one more than the number for last year.