Taxi operator charged with murder of UTech student Anisa Dilworth

The 29-year-old taxi operator who was held over the disappearance of 20-year-old University of Technology student Anisa Dilworth has been charged with her abduction and murder.

Dilworth's skeletal remains were found on a beach in Portmore, St Catherine, in May, days after she was reported missing.

The accused, Jamar Grant, otherwise called ‘Balla’, of 9 Miles, Bull Bay, St Andrew, and Sligoville district, St Catherine, was formally charged with murder and kidnapping on June 25, the police said in a statement on Friday.

It followed investigations spanning the St Catherine South and St Andrew Central police divisions.

Dilworth, a first-year pharmaceutical technology student, was reported missing on May 7.

Her remains were discovered around 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, May 17, by a security guard at a beach in Portmore, who summoned the police.

The scene was processed, and subsequent DNA analysis confirmed the remains to be those of the missing student.

Grant was later arrested, interviewed, and charged.

He is scheduled to appear in court on July 4.

The UTech’s Students’ Union led a protest in May demanding swift justice in the case.

Ride-hailing company inDrive had indicated that there is no record of her using its service recently. It confirmed that Grant and Dilworth were registered on its platform.

inDrive said Dilworth's last ride was in 2024, and the driver’s account was created afterward, "confirming that Dilworth could not have booked him for a ride".

The company said that although the driver’s profile shows no unusual activity, but has temporarily suspended him.

Follow The Gleaner on X and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.