KINGSTON, Jamaica— Despite the arguments of his attorney, Dionne Meyler-Barrett, Rushawn Patterson, the man accused of murdering social media influencer Aneka ‘Slickianna’ Townsend last October, was denied bail for the second time.

When Patterson appeared before High Court Justice Judith Pusey in the St James Circuit Court on Wednesday, she denied the application. On March 21, the accused had a previous bail application denied.

READ: UPDATE: ‘Slickianna’ murder accused denied bail

Meyler-Barrett noted during Wednesday’s application that Patterson recently obtained a no-evidence motion from the Half-Way-Tree Criminal Court in relation to an unrelated assault case from 2018. Patterson was accused of physically assaulting a woman in that case after flying into a jealous rage.

“What has changed, my lady, is that one of the grounds that the Crown advanced is that he had matters in Kingston. On May 18, 2023, no evidence was offered in the matter and he was discharged on that matter, and it was in the Half-Way-Tree Criminal Court,” Meyler-Barrett told the High Court judge.

Pusey, however, denied the bail request after the prosecution raised concerns that Patterson, if released on bail, would likely flee and commit new crimes, as well as the fact that she had previously refused to grant him bail in another court case, reinforcing her argument against granting bail.

“I refused him bail there, another judge refused him bail here, so do you think I am going to grant him bail now?” Justice Pusey asked Meyler-Barrett.

“Not today, my lady, but on another day when I renew the bail application,” the attorney replied.

Meanwhile, the court was informed that the report from the Communication Forensic and Cyber Crime Division was ready for disclosure to the defence, but that the post-mortem report and a scene-of-crime statement were still pending.

Pusey then ordered Patterson to be remanded until December 19.

Townsend’s body was found floating in the sea in Reading, St James, on October 21. A post-mortem examination determined that she was strangled, with the death occurring some time between 11:00 pm on October 20 and 9:00 am on October 21.

READ: Body of woman found on beach in St James

According to police reports, Townsend had travelled from Kingston to Montego Bay on October 20 and was later picked up by Patterson, following which they visited a restaurant in Hanover and a guest house in St James. Some time during the night, an argument developed between the two, following which Townsend was strangled and her body disposed off.

The police subsequently held Patterson during a high-level, intelligence-driven police operation on November 2. He was charged nine days later.