Naturally pained by last week’s stunning developments in the case of his missing 10-month-old daughter Sarayah and her mother, Toshyna Patterson, parliamentarian Phillip Paulwell on Saturday said his heart is heavy with sadness and expressed hope that the individuals now charged with their kidnapping and murder be “punished to the fullest extent of the law”.

“The past few weeks have been extremely difficult for me as I grappled with the abduction of my daughter and her mother,” the Member of Parliament for Kingston East and Port Royal said in a statement.

“I am heartbroken that the worst has happened,” he said, adding that he had “prayed unceasingly” for their safe return.

Last Friday, Leoda Bradshaw, a US Navy petty officer with whom Paulwell sired a now eight-year-old child, appeared in the Supreme Court after being charged with two counts of conspiracy to kidnap, two counts of conspiracy to murder, two counts of kidnapping, and two counts of capital murder.

According to the Crown, Bradshaw, after learning about the existence of Paulwell’s 10-month-old daughter on September 5, 2023, contacted Patterson on Facebook and informed her that she was Paulwell’s spouse and advised Patterson that a DNA test should be done to determine the paternity of the child.

After that brief exchange Patterson blocked Bradshaw from her account, the prosecution said, adding that Bradshaw, who lives overseas, travelled to Jamaica the very next day, September 6, 2023 “for the sole purpose of killing Toshyna Patterson and the young child she shared with her spouse”.

The Crown also alleged that Bradshaw, through her cousin and co-accused Roland Balfour, contracted men to kidnap and murder Patterson and Sarayah.

Balfour has been charged with two counts of accessory before the fact to kidnapping and two counts of accessory before the fact to murder.

In the meantime, two other men — Roshane Miller and Richard Brown — are to appear before the court later this month in relation to charges against them in the matter.

Brown has been charged with two counts of conspiracy to murder, two counts of conspiracy to kidnap, two counts of kidnapping, and two counts of murder. Miller, a 29-year-old air conditioning technician, has been charged with two counts of accessory before the fact to kidnapping, and two counts of accessory before the fact to murder.

According to prosecutors, Bradshaw met with Miller and Brown to arrange for the kidnappings and murders. The original plan was to kidnap Patterson and the baby from their home. Bradshaw, prosecutors told the court, paid the men the equivalent of J$100,000 in United States currency as downpayment for the execution of the crime. The remainder of the funds ($400,000) was to be paid after the completion of the deal.

Prosecutors said that on Saturday, September 9, Bradshaw “placed several calls and conversed with Patterson, with a view to lure her away from her premises”.

She afterwards arrived at Patterson’s home at approximately 7:00 am that day.

“Evidentiary material shows Patterson exiting her premises and entering an SUV parked at her gate, along with her baby. Evidentiary material shows that she remained in this vehicle for over 15 minutes. The vehicle then drove off and left the area approximately 7:22 am. Patterson and Sarayah never exited the vehicle prior to its leaving,” the prosecutor told presiding Supreme Court judge, Justice Simone Wolfe-Reece on Friday.

The Crown’s case is that Bradshaw took Patterson to Stony Hill in the vicinity of the home where she, Bradshaw, was staying, handed over Patterson and her young child to Brown and other individuals who are yet to be apprehended. “After this, Patterson and her young child were taken to Warieka Hills where they were shot and killed and their bodies burned,” the court was told.

In his statement on Saturday, Paulwell said nothing could have prepared him for the events that unfolded since last week Thursday.

“That anyone could murder a mother and an innocent baby is unimaginable, and my heart is heavy with sadness,” he said. “I am praying for Toshyna’s family, who I know are experiencing the unbearable grief and pain of losing their beloved daughter and granddaughter. As a human being, father, lawyer, and legislator I am hoping that all who were involved are brought to justice and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

The legislator said he has been in constant dialogue with the police and has cooperated fully with the investigation.

“I cannot comment on the investigations nor matters before the court, but I wish to thank the police for their tireless work,” he said, and expressed gratitude to the “many Jamaicans” who have been generous in their prayers as well as their “kind and thoughtful expressions of love, support, and solidarity” for him and his family.