Double killing jolts rural St Andrew community
Chef, mentally ill man murdered in related incidents
Published:Monday | August 25, 2025 | 12:10 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
A pall of gloom fell over the afternoon in the rustic community of Mount James in St Andrew yesterday as the bodies of two men, one on the ground and the other in a stream, lay lifeless.
They were killed hours apart in an apparent murder and vigilante justice attack, which has since sent tongues wagging.
Sounds of wailing could be heard in the bushes where Gregory Henry, a chef affectionately called ‘Tripey’, was covered with a cloth.
“Gregory, I never know is the last time I would see you … . Gregory gone,” a relative of the deceased said as she was being consoled by a family friend.
The police were on hand to safeguard the scene, which was nestled in the hilly terrain.
About 800 metres from there, police also had watchful eyes on the scene where Henry’s alleged killer was found dead in a stream.
His identity has not yet been ascertained.
The Gleaner understands that sometime after 11 a.m., Henry was attacked in a section of the community known as Water Lane.
He had chop wounds to his head and upper body.
An angry mob reportedly went in search of the suspect, believed to be mentally ill, and he was set upon.
Information reaching The Gleaner suggests he was shot and chopped.
“A hard-working man was killed. Tripey never deserve that. Man have him children dem a live for. The next one nuh come from up here; him come here. The people dem vex over it,” a resident told The Gleaner.
“You can’t nuh come from ‘bout ya come kill man weh born and grow [here]. The people dem hunt him [down], and him don’t know the bush like who live up here. When the police deh a Tripey scene … dem catch the killer and deal with him. The police dem deh deh and hear and had to call in backup,” a resident with knowledge of the incident told The Gleaner.
The St Andrew North Police Division recorded a deadly and bloody day on Sunday, as there was also a gun murder in Florence Hill, Lawrence Tavern.
An unidentified man was shot and killed in that incident sometime after midday, marking three killings within two hours in the division.
The police division recorded a 50 per cent decline in homicides as at August 16.
Twenty-two murders were committed since the start of the year when compared to 44 for the similar period in 2024.
The Constant Spring Criminal Investigation Branch is probing all the incidents.