Painter gets life sentence for murder of Paulwell’s daughter and her mother

The Kingston painter who pleaded guilty to being involved in the abduction and killing of politician Phillip Paulwell’s 10-month-old daughter, Sarayah, and her mother, Toshyna Patterson, was on Friday morning sentenced to life in prison and will have to serve a minimum of 45 years before becoming eligible for parole.

David Smith was sentenced by Chief Justice Bryan Sykes in the Home Circuit Court under a plea-deal arrangement with the Crown.

The father of two daughters, who appeared very sad, was sentenced to life in prison for the death of the infant and 25 years at hard labour for her mother’s death. He was also sentenced to three years for kidnapping the child and two years for kidnapping the mother.

The sentences were recommended by the Crown. However, the judge indicated that he would not have been so lenient.

The judge noted that Smith had no reason for participating in the gruesome killings and stressed that his sentence should really be life in prison for the rest of his life.

“It really takes a special kind of evil to kill a baby and deliberately so,” the judge said.

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

During the sentencing, Patterson’s mother and sister were observed crying.

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

He 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.

Prosecutors allege that Sarayah and her 27-year-old mother were abducted from their St Andrew home on September 9, 2023.

Investigators say they were taken to east Kingston, where they were later shot and their bodies burned.

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

Attorneys Franklin Grenyion and Shamar Hanson represented Smith.

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

- Tanesha Mundle

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, 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.