‘Special kind of evil’

Chief Justice Bryan Sykes said the Kingston painter, who was eligible for the death penalty for murdering Toshyna Patterson and her baby, should really be breathing his last breath in prison – not facing the possibility of one day walking free to enjoy life.

Sykes expressed dismay on Friday that 35-year-old David Smith, who took part in the abduction and murder of Patterson and her 10-month-old daughter, Sarayah Paulwell, could eventually serve out his sentence.

Paulwell was the daughter of veteran politician Phillip Paulwell.

“Even with recent amendments to 50 years for capital murder, life should really be life. You should breathe your last breath behind bars,” Sykes said during sentencing in the Home Circuit Court.

Sykes made the comment before handing down a life sentence to Smith for the infant’s murder and 25 years for her mother’s murder.

Smith will, however, be eligible for parole after serving 45 years. His lawyers said they were of the view that the sentence would have been between 30 and 35 years.

He was also sentenced to two years for the mother’s kidnapping and three years for the infant’s kidnapping.

GUILTY PLEA

Smith had pleaded guilty to two counts each of capital murder, conspiracy to murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap.

However, under the plea deal, the capital murder charge – for which the penalty is death – was reduced to murder.

The chief justice said the agreement reached between the Crown and the accused was “far more generous” than what he would have imposed.

“You were, in fact, eligible [as a] candidate for the death penalty, and you now have the ability to enjoy life, something you deprived Ms Patterson and her child of,” Sykes told Smith.

He noted that the Crown’s decision not to pursue the death penalty created the possibility that the convicted man could eventually become a free man.

Sykes painted a vivid picture of that possibility, saying the man could one day be “walking around enjoying fresh air”, going to Dunn’s River, eating jerk pork and chicken, and saying, “It’s so good to be alive.”

“Why should you, the person who deliberately takes somebody’s life, have the opportunity to be free? That should never happen,” the chief justice said.

He was particularly critical of the killing of the infant.

“It really takes a special kind of evil to kill a baby deliberately,” Sykes said.

The judge also reflected on the trauma Patterson would have experienced if she had witnessed the killing of her child.

Sykes said the circumstances of the case made the possibility of eventual freedom especially troubling, noting that the accused had “no reason, no connection, no nothing” with the two victims.

The judge noted Smith’s claim that he was not the main perpetrator and that he was very regretful, but said that he had several opportunities to withdraw from the conspiracy.

He then pointed to Smith’s social inquiry report, in which he said he would have to live with the weight of what he had done and wished he could go back and change his decision.

But Sykes said the accused appeared to have convinced the probation officer that he was remorseful, although he added that he “won’t say it is so”.

The judge also highlighted Smith’s upbringing and family life, noting that he was raised in a strict home by both parents, who emphasised the importance of staying out of trouble.

ACTIVE FATHER

Sykes further noted that Smith mentioned in his report that he was an active father who enjoyed “meaningful” relationships with his two daughters, who live overseas.

But the judge noted the irony that the accused had two daughters of his own yet participated in the killing of a mother and her daughter.

The accused’s mother, in the report, said the child she raised could never have committed such a gruesome act. But Sykes remarked that she might still be in a state of shock.

Before handing down the sentences, Sykes explained that under the law governing multiple counts of murder, Smith would only receive a discount for the first count and none for subsequent counts.

The offender appeared very sad during the sentencing, while Patterson’s mother and sisters wept.

The family declined to comment following the sentencing.

The mother and daughter were abducted from their St Andrew home in September 2023. The two were later found dead after being taken to the Wareika Hills area, where they were shot and their bodies burned, according to the prosecution’s case.

Smith was jointly charged with the alleged mastermind, Leoda Bradshaw, a former United States Navy petty officer who was reportedly involved in a relationship with Phillip Paulwell at the time of the killings and is also the mother of one of his children.

Bradshaw is facing two counts each of capital murder, conspiracy to murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap.

She is jointly charged with Roland Balfour and Bjorn Black in connection with the killings.

Balfour, Bradshaw’s cousin, is charged with two counts each of accessory before the fact to murder and kidnapping. Black faces two counts each of murder, kidnapping, conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to kidnap, along with firearms-related offences.

The defendants are currently in custody awaiting their trial on February 22, 2027.

Two other men implicated in the case, Richard Brown and Roshane Miller, have already pleaded guilty to related offences and have been sentenced.

Director of Public Prosecutions Claudette Thompson and Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Alice-Ann Gabbidon appeared for the Crown.

Attorneys Franklin Grenyion and Shamar Hanson represented Smith.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com