Twenty-seven year old charged with murder of Petit Bordel man

A 27 year old man has been charged with the murder of a Petit Bordel labourer whose bullet-riddled body was discovered by community members two weeks ago.

Iran Stapleton, address given as Redemption Sharpes, appeared at the Serious Offences Court before Senior Magistrate, Colin John on October 9, 2024 where he was charged that on September 29, 2024 at Petit Bordel with malice aforethought caused the death of Otnell Lavia, 37 of Petit Bordel by an unlawful act. Stapleton told the court that Defence Counsel, Grant Connell is representing him in the matter.

However, Connell was not present during Stapleton’s arraignment. Senior Magistrate John informed Stapleton that he was not required to plea due to the seriousness of the offence. John also told him that bail was not open to him. Therefore, Stapleton was remanded in custody. He will reappear in court on October 15, 2024.

Lavia was shot and killed some time after 2:00 a.m near a property in Petit Bordel that seemed abandoned. One resident recalled hearing multiple gunshots on the Sunday night, after which, someone cried out, causing other community members to gather at the scene. There they discovered the bullet-riddled body of the father of five.

A post-mortem examination revealed that Lavia’s death was caused by exsanguination, which is the medical term for severe blood loss due to sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. Lavia’s death occurred shortly after the killing of Stanron ‘Standpipe’ Stapleton, a 29-year-old labourer from Rose Hall, who received several gunshots to his chest and back in Petit Bordel on September 27, 2024.

Stapleton and Lavia are two of six recorded killings that week. The others were Devon ‘Lima’ Holder, Elijah Creese, Matthew DaSouza and Javier Browne.