Homicide Probe Leads to Location of Jasmine Petillo’s Murder
Jasmine Petillo
The house in which seventeen-year-old Jasmine Petillo was murdered has been identified. Today, the Rural Eastern Division of the Police Department held a press briefing in Ladyville to announce that an ongoing investigation in the Mahogany Heights community has led police to the house where Petillo was brutally stabbed fifty-seven times. The community is still reeling from the heinous murder, as one person is detained and police are looking for four other suspects in the crime. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.
Duane Moody, Reporting
It’s been five days since the brutal murder of a teenage girl in the Mahogany Heights Community off the George Price Highway. Jasmine Petillo was stabbed over fifty times and her body dumped in a ditch to the back of the village, a stone’s throw away from where she lived. Ongoing investigations have since led police to a nearby house where Petillo was killed. Inside was blood, believed to be that of deceased; blood-soaked clothing was also discarded, but later discovered by police patrol within the village.
Edward Broaster
ACP Edward Broaster, Regional Commander, Rural Eastern Division
“We have been doing significant investigation into that matter. We have identified the house in which we believe the young lady was killed. We have also managed to extract blood samples from the house which will be sent to the lab for DNA testing and that will give us the way forward in terms of charges and what have you in respect of that murder case. We have also found bloody clothing in another location, which had been discarded by another suspect. And we are looking for an additional suspect where we will be doing DNA swab as well and send to the lab for testing.”
Duane Moody
“What led you guys there and is it in proximity to where she lived?”
ACP Edward Broaster
“Yes it is in close proximity to where she lives. And what led us to her house is our campaign of see something, say something stop something.”
Judith Petillo
The seventeen-year-old was reportedly killed sometime between three a.m. last Wednesday and ten o’clock that same morning when her body was discovered. Her body had been wrapped in a sheet.
Judith Petillo, Grandmother of Murder Victim [File: June 29th, 2016]
“But whosoever do it, the good lord see and the watch and knows weh happen and dehn wah pay. I don’t know why deh do mi granddaughter. My granddaughter dah wah loving granddaughter fo mine. I mi always say that whenever I get sick or something happen to me, dah she wah mind we and take care of me. And dehn kill mi baby from me man. Why dehn do me that fah? Why? Why? Why? Why dehn do me that fah? Why?”
But it is believed that Petillo was killed in retaliation of the June 2015 murder of Desmond Usher, also in Mahogany Heights. Interestingly though, Petillo was killed close to her house – allegedly at one of her friends house. According to ACP Broaster, there are multiple suspects in this latest homicide.
ACP Edward Broaster
“Our investigators are working tirelessly and we believe that we will have this case wrapped up shortly.”
Duane Moody
“Did you say whether someone is detained in the murder of Jasmine Petillo?”
ACP Edward Broaster
“Yes we had someone detained.”
Duane Moody
“Is the person still in detention?”
ACP Edward Broaster
“The person is still in detention at this time. Nevertheless we have been questioning that individual and the individual is not cooperating with us. But we believe that when we get back the results of the DNA tests and the samples that we have taken, we believe that we will be able to lay charges on that suspect.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
