WESTERN BUREAU:
No sooner had Joy Smith heard that the man accused of killing her daughter had met his demise in an alleged police confrontation on Tuesday than she and close relatives and friends made their way to Dovecot Cemetery to celebrate the news by the graveside of Aneka ‘Slickianna’ Townsend.
Superintendent of Police Andrew Nish, the commanding officer for the Hanover police division, told The Gleaner that 35-year-old Rushawn Patterson’s death occurred on Tuesday morning during an operation in the Dundee Pen area of Lucea, Hanover.
“He was shot and injured, and when they took him to the hospital, he was pronounced dead. It was an intelligence-led targeted operation in the Lucea police area,” Nish said in a brief interview with The Gleaner. He did not state what led to the police operation.
Smith’s jubilant mood on Tuesday was in stark contrast to her mournful patience in October 2024, when she indicated that she was constantly praying for justice. At that time, Smith said that neither she nor her family had received counselling.
“I am at Dovecot Cemetery now, and it is right by my daughter’s graveside where we are at, celebrating. The police texted me and told me what happened, and it maybe cannot bring her back, but at least I got justice,” Smith told The Gleaner on Tuesday, caressing Townsend’s headstone as shouts of jubilation rang out around her.
“I was waiting for justice, and now, I finally got it. I never wanted him (Patterson) to get sentenced to eat taxpayers’ money, and I was never sure he would get sentenced either, so I am sure now that I got my justice,” Smith added. “Mi never want to rejoice over a death, but this death here, mi haffi rejoice.”
When contacted by The Gleaner, Patterson’s attorney, Dionne Meyler, expressed surprise at the news of his death and stated she would need to contact his relatives for confirmation. Subsequent attempts to reach her were unsuccessful.
Patterson had been arrested on November 2, 2022, just over a week after Townsend’s body was found floating in the sea off Reading in St James. He was charged with murder following a post-mortem determined that Townsend had been strangled.
STRANGLED
Townsend, 35, had reportedly travelled from Kingston to Montego Bay, St James, on October 20, 2022 and was picked up by Patterson. They visited a restaurant in Hanover and a guest house in St James before an argument reportedly ensued, after which Townsend was strangled, and her body disposed of.
At the time of his demise on Tuesday, Patterson had been out on bail, awaiting his next appearance in the St James Circuit Court on October 15 this year. He had been granted bail on July 16, 2024, on humanitarian grounds, after Meyler argued that he suffered from haemophilia, a blood disorder.
Patterson had previously been denied bail on at least three occasions prior to July 16, 2024, due to concerns that he was a flight risk and could potentially reoffend if granted bail. Additionally, he faced an unrelated matter in the Half-Way Tree Criminal Court, where he was accused of attacking another woman in a jealous rage in 2018. However, that case was later dismissed after a no-evidence submission.
