KINGSTON, Jamaica — In a shocking development that has rocked Jamaica’s law enforcement community, a serving officer with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) — identified as the prime suspect in an ongoing murder probe — has been discovered dead in Brown’s Town, St Ann. Investigators preliminary assessments point to a self-inflicted gunshot wound as the cause of death.
The deceased officer has been named as 50-year-old Alphanso Fennel, who listed a Cambridge, St James, residential address. According to sources familiar with the case who spoke to Observer Online, Fennel had recently been reassigned to the Major Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Agency, a specialized unit tasked with tackling serious organized crime and public corruption across the island.
At the time of his death, Fennel was the subject of a murder investigation led by the JCF’s Manchester Division. The case centers on a missing woman who investigators confirm Fennel was romantically linked to.
Witness accounts outline that Fennel arrived in Brown’s Town around 9:00 pm Wednesday, and was staying with local friends — a couple who he had visited on multiple previous occasions. In the hours before his body was found, Fennel sent a series of goodbye messages to his personal contacts and a church group he was part of, explicitly stating he intended to take his own life.
When first responders reached the scene, they recovered Fennel’s issued Glock service pistol alongside his body. Unconfirmed reports emerging from the investigation Thursday morning also indicate that search teams have located the remains of the missing woman who was at the center of the murder probe.
Law enforcement officials have not yet released an official statement confirming the discovery of the woman’s body, and additional details are expected to be made public as the investigation progresses.