Another Negril murder, residents deeply worried

Residents and business stakeholders in Negril, Westmoreland are again expressing fear about the crime situation in the resort town following the murder of yet another high-profile resident, which has added another victim to the town’s deadly statistics since the start of the year.

In the latest incident, which occurred on Tuesday, 79-year-old yoga teacher Francoise Simonet-Johnson, of Trombone Villa, was found dead on the floor of her room with bruise marks on her neck and nose, and signs of violence in the room.

“It looks like Negril is slowly losing its reputation as a peaceful town, where international tourists usually feel safe and at home,” a craft vendor told The Gleaner on Thursday. 

“The authorities need to step in immediately and fix the crime problem because we can’t afford to lose Negril to violence.”

According to a Jamaica Constabulary Force release, Simonet-Johnson was found dead inside her room about 7:00 a.m. 

The body was transported to the Savanna-la-Mar General Hospital, where she was officially pronounced dead. 

The police have classified her death as a case of murder.

Simonet-Johnson is the second high-profile person to be killed in Negril in under a month. 

On May 22, prominent restaurant operator Nashon McGibbon was shot and killed at his business place during an armed robbery. A European tourist who was having a meal at the establishment was shot and injured.

In another gun-related incident on March 27, 39-year-old taxi operator Dadrian Miller was found dead in his car with a gunshot wound.

The car was parked in Negril Square.

Following a similar uptick in violence in 2023, neighbourhood watch groups in Negril collaborated with the Negril Chamber of Commerce and religious and civic groups to stage a peaceful march, demanding stronger policing measures to address the crime.

That protest came months after the chamber of commerce invited National Security Minister, Dr Horace Chang, to meet with them to discuss the crime problem. 

Chang accepted the invitation and, following a closed-door meeting with the chamber, promised a public order reset for Negril.

Following the meeting with Chang, Elaine Allen Bradley, the president of the Negril chamber, told The Gleaner that she and the other stakeholders were comfortable with the assurances they were given.

“He [Chang] has assured us that he is going to take some of the things that we said and work on them, including getting the commissioner of police to come and talk with us,” said Bradley.

However, with the crime scourge back and creating concerns, stakeholders are concerned that the town, which is generating nearly US$1 billion in earnings annually for the country, while contributing 24 percent of the island’s tourism traffic, could become strangled in violence without a robust response to the situation. 

“We need a robust response to the crime situation; the stakes are too high, we must arrest the situation now,” the craft vendor told The Gleaner. 

“Negril is a gem that should not be allowed to be further tarnished.” 

- Adrian Frater

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