Suspect seeks prayers before murder confession

Two shocking revelations hit the tight-knit communities of Retreat and Girls Town Lane in Glengoffe, St Catherine, yesterday when a man reportedly confessed to killing and burying a missing woman in her own yard.

The community folks told THE STAR that the 20-year-old man requested prayer at a special church service and also assisted in the search for 32-year-old Lisa-Gay 'Babes' Cobre, to some extent.

Cobre, who had been missing since September 28, was the subject of a community-wide search led by the Glengoffe police and concerned residents. A reward of $100,000 was offered for her safe return, and the community held out hope.

However, during a special church service last week, the atmosphere shifted. As the sermon called for prayers for Cobre's family, the man approached the altar, seeking prayers for himself.

"There was a prayer meeting at my shop and they were calling for the family. They say they were going to pray for Sonia [Cobre's mother] and the missing girl that wherever she is, she would come back home. 'Jukie' (the accused man) was there and he came to the altar and they prayed for him," a resident said.

The suspect reportedly turned up at the police on Monday night and reportedly confessed to killing Cobre and burying her remains in a shallow grave. Yesterday, dressed in black and in handcuffs, he led investigators to the spot in his yard where Cobre's partially decomposed body was found.

Cobre's grieving mother, Sonia Beverly, had to seek medical attention at a nearby clinic following the revelation. Beverly, a mother of four daughters, was the mother figure in the suspect's life since he was 10 years old.

"Dem tek him fi dem brother because I don't have any sons," she said.

Divisional Commander for St Catherine, Senior Superintendent Hopton Nicholson, told THE STAR that a post mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

The suspect remains in police custody.