KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) says it had no evidence capable of establishing what occurred inside the residence of Jolyan and Melissa Silvera at the time the wife was fatally shot by her husband.

The ODPP made the revelation in a statement outlining the evidentiary basis for accepting Jolyan Silvera’s guilty plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Silvera, who was initially charged with murder, pleaded guilty on Monday to manslaughter and using a firearm to commit a felony. His plea was accepted by the prosecution and Chief Justice Bryan Sykes, a decision that has since sparked public criticism on social media.

READ: Chief Justice Bryan Sykes accepts Jolyan Silvera’s guilty plea

According to the ODPP, the defence submitted a statement authored and signed by Silvera on Monday night in which he claimed that on November 10, 2023, he and his wife became involved in a physical argument. Silvera alleged that during the confrontation, his wife blamed him for the death of their young son, hurled expletives at him and made derogatory remarks about his sister and mother, which he found to be provocative.

He said a further comment about their children caused him to lose control, at which point he discharged his licensed firearm in her direction.

Silvera stated that he did not intend to hurt or kill his wife and that after the shooting, he panicked and left the apartment. He further claimed that in the days following her death, he refrained from admitting responsibility because he was concerned about his children losing both parents.

The ODPP said the prosecution accepted the plea to manslaughter because there was no evidence in its possession that could speak to what transpired inside the residence when Melissa Silvera was shot and killed. As a result, prosecutors would have been unable to evidentially negate the partial defence of provocation raised by Silvera.

The ODPP further noted that once the defence of provocation was raised, the court would have been required to direct the jury on that defence and its legal effect, which could reduce a murder charge to manslaughter.

The prosecution also clarified the sequence of events surrounding the discovery of Melissa Silvera’s body.

According to the ODPP, sometime after 10:30 pm on November 10, 2023, Silvera told his wife and children that he was leaving to attend a meeting and would return the following day. Statements from two of the children indicate that an argument followed, after which Silvera left the home.

Shortly before 6:00 am on November 11, 2023, one of the children, then 10 years old, entered his parents’ bedroom and discovered his mother lying motionless on the floor beside the bed, bleeding. He alerted his sibling, and the children contacted their father using a messaging application. Silvera later stated that he called the Stony Hill Police Station while returning home after speaking with his son.

Upon arriving at the residence, Silvera went into the bedroom (based on the statements from his children) and “saw his wife in a sitting position with her head leaning forward at the side of the bed”. He touched her, spoke to her and found that she was not responding.

A police first responder subsequently arrived, observed the body and took a photograph with his phone to which Silvera cried out. He then had Silvera cover the nude section of the body and did not further examine the body as “Silvera was still crying”.

After learning that Melissa had no known medical condition, the first responder indicated that a post-mortem examination would be conducted to determine the cause of death. He then contacted the House of Tranquillity Funeral Home for the removal of the body and left.

A post-mortem conducted in December 2023 revealed three gunshot wounds: one perforating gunshot wound to the front of the right thigh, one penetrating gunshot wound to the left side of the lower abdomen, and the third was a superficial penetrating gunshot wound to the right side of the lower abdomen. The pathologist concluded that the cause of death was multiple gunshot injuries.

The detectives and the first responder returned to Silvera’s home on December 16, 2023 and noticed the house, including the couple’s bedroom, had been renovated. Silvera told investigators that no one had told him that he could not make changes to the room. His iPhone and firearms were then taken by the police for examination and testing.

Ballistics testing later confirmed that the projectiles recovered from Melissa Silvera’s body were fired from Silvera’s licensed Glock pistol.

Silvera was then arrested and charged with the offences of using a firearm to commit a felony and murder.