HAUGHTON COURT, Hanover — Nordia Edwards could not hold back the tears as she listened, Tuesday, to the agony her raped and murdered nine-year-old daughter had to endure at the hands of a man with whom Edwards was in a romantic relationship.

Added to the mother’s anguish was the prosecution’s decision to take the death penalty off the table after Omar Green pleaded guilty.

According to details of the post-mortem report shared inside the Hanover Circuit Court by Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Andrea Martin Swaby, Nikita Noel was strangled to death. Based on DNA test results from crime scene samples — including semen from vaginal swabs — in some cases Green was strongly linked to the crime and in others his involvement could not be ruled out.

As Edwards wept over her daughter she was comforted by the child’s maternal grandmother, Kereen Cameron who was herself racked with grief.

“Sitting down in court and hearing all of these I had to cry to see the horror and pain that my child went through. She did not deserve this. No one deserves this. It is heartless and cruel,” Edwards told the Jamaica Observer following the court’s sitting.

Earlier in the day, 42-year-old Green — clad in a blue, red and white shirt, his hair unkempt — had pleaded guilty to murder and rape. In response to Supreme Court judge, Justice Courtney Daye’s query about whether he had entered the plea freely and with full understanding, the Lucea resident replied in the affirmative.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), which had on March 28 indicated that the death penalty would have been sought, then informed the court that it would no longer go that route. As has been explained in previous cases, it is required procedure to announce when the death penalty is being sought, and it is typically taken off the table if the accused pleads guilty soon thereafter, saving the court’s time.

However, the thought that Green will escape death has not gone down well with Edwards who sought out the Observer following court. She has steadily called for Green to be put to death; she sees this as the only fair punishment for what he did to her child.

“I am pleading with Mr Andrew Holness, the prime minister, and [National Security Minister Dr] Horace Chang to amend something and change the law so the death penalty can stay in place. Too much of this is going on in the country. An example needs to be made,” stated Edwards.

“Our young children are dying every day by rape and violence. It needs to be stopped,” she appealed.

For now, the next step is for Green to undergo a comprehensive psychiatric exam, as requested by his attorney Albert Morgan. A social enquiry and antecedent reports are also to be done.

“All of these things are needed before a judge can decide what sentence is given. Even though he has pleaded guilty, it does not mean that these are not needed,” explained Justice Daye.

“These things are required, and when they are available the court will have the opportunity to go through all these reports before deciding on what sentence to give,” the Supreme Court judge added.

Green is booked to return to court on the last day of this month for a sentencing hearing.

“He is remanded in custody until that time and, particularly, he is remanded so that a psychiatrist can evaluate him. I think that is done at the Tower Street [Adult] Correctional Centre. When that is finished, the psychiatrist will send the report and we expect to have all of that for sentencing [on] the 31st,” stated Justice Daye.

Nikita, who family members fondly called Joanna, was a student of Esher Primary School at the time of her death. She was killed on the afternoon of February 1, 2023. Earlier that morning Green and Edwards had allegedly engaged in a domestic dispute.

Police reports are that little Nikita travelled from school with her usual taxi driver before she and other passengers exited the cab at the usual spot, at the foot of a dirt road leading up a hill to where her family lives.

The child’s mother raised an alarm after she did not return home and could not be found. Community members and the police launched a search and her body was found in bushes a few feet from the entrance to her house.

The family dog was also found with both rear legs bound by a shirt.