KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaican detectives are investigating the poisoning death of a police commander.
A coroner’s jury inquest ruled this week that Dayton Henry was “systematically” poisoned. The former head of the Clarendon police division died at a hospital in May 2012. Local media say a poison used to exterminate rats was found in his system.
It’s unclear why it took more than two years to convene a seven-member coroner’s jury for the inquest into Henry’s death.
On Wednesday, Assistant Police Commissioner Devon Watkis said detectives have “initiated another phase” of their investigation now that the inquest is done. A police statement says investigators are appealing for “patience and support.”
Relatively few murders are solved in Jamaica. A U.S. State Department report says the conviction rate for homicides is 5 percent.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
