Jamie Butcher (right) being escorted to a Castries court on Tuesday.
The sister of a 22-year-old man charged with the murder of 48-year-old Asher ‘BJ’ Emmanuel, says her brother is being “wrongfully accused”.
Police said Jamie Butcher of Rose Hill, Castries was on Monday, April 13 charged with the murder of Emmanuel, who was shot multiple times on Tuesday, April 7, 2015 about 10:30 a.m. off Chaussee Road in Leslie Land, Castries.
Butcher was remanded at Bordelais Correctional Facility after he appeared in court on Tuesday, April 14.
Butcher’s sister, who prefers to remain anonymous, told St. Lucia News Online (SNO) that the young man was targeted because of his association. The relative said though he hung out with the wrong crowd sometimes, that does not mean he committed the crime.
When asked if she is aware of Butcher being a member of a gang, she said: “I will not say yes and I will not say no…because I am not with him 24-7.”
She added: ”He has his friends. I have spoken to him about it… but he is wrongfully accused. He should not be charged,” the relative said, adding that Butcher has never gotten in trouble with the law before.
Other persons close to Butcher told SNO that he could not have been the trigger man behind BJ’s killing because he was nowhere near the murder scene.
One friend questioned how could the lawmen finger out Butcher when it is alleged that the killer/s was masked.
Police said a post mortem conducted on Wednesday, April 8 revealed that Emmanuel died ”as a result of hemorrhagic shock secondary to [a] gunshot wound to the head”.
Originally from Bexon, Castries, Emmanuel was well known as a peacemaker (elder) in the Wilton’s Yard (Graveyard) community. He was a former coordinator of an after-school programme in the community.
He was the husband of popular Wilton’s Yard resident, Cheryl Clarke. The couple would have celebrated their first wedding anniversary later this month.
Clarke’s brother, Arthur ‘Afoo’ Clarke, was gunned down in Chase Gardens on January 27, 2011.