Forensic tests link mob-killed man to body of murdered 10-y-o Shani Coke in Trelawny – Police

A DNA breakthrough has brought the police closer to unravelling what happened to 10-year-old Shani Coke, whose death sparked outrage and deadly mob violence in Troy, Trelawny, in July.

Forensic tests have confirmed that DNA recovered from the child's body matches that of Delroy Coke, the convicted sexual offender who was beaten to death by a mob hours after Shani's body was discovered.

The findings were confirmed to The Gleaner by Superintendent Germaine Anglin, crime officer for the Jamaica Constabulary Force's Area One Division.

According to Anglin, samples taken from beneath Shani's fingernails, along with bodily fluids recovered from her body, were tested against Delroy Coke's DNA.

The results were a match.

"The report ... actually says that some fingernail clippings taken from Shani Coke and some bodily fluids ... matched Delroy Coke," Anglin said.

The findings, received earlier this month from the Government Forensic Laboratory, have given investigators a crucial piece of evidence in a case that left the rural community shaken.

Anglin said the police are still awaiting post-mortem findings to establish whether the child was sexually assaulted.

"That has not been confirmed," he stressed.

The superintendent described the DNA results as a welcome breakthrough, saying investigators are now closer to establishing what happened to the child.

"It's a welcome break," he said.

"It is something that we can now put together in order to ... come to a conclusion and give the family ... some form of closure by giving them what actually occurred."

Shani's body was discovered in Troy in July, setting off a chain of events that ended in bloodshed.

Delroy Coke was attacked and killed by a mob, while another man was beaten and hospitalised and a house was set ablaze.

Anglin said the DNA testing process began in July, with the results becoming available approximately three to four months later.

He explained that the time taken was normal, as forensic testing involves several stages before a DNA match can be confirmed.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the mob killing is far from over.

Anglin said no one is currently before the court in connection with Delroy Coke's death, but the police are continuing their investigations.

"That investigation is still ongoing, and in due time, we will release some names of persons who we are interested in," he said.

Janet.Silvera@gleanerjm.com

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