By Kimone Witter
A man was on Thursday sentenced to life imprisonment in the St. James Circuit Court for the murder of his cousin six years ago.
Abejay Powell will be eligible for parole after serving 29 years.
A six-member jury found Powell guilty on March 2.
The prosecution led evidence that Powell shot Otis Patrick at the house he resided in Lowe River district in Trelawny on March 25, 2017. Powell was the caretaker for the property owned by their relative.
Mr. Patrick's murder is believed to have occurred shortly after he arrived in Lowe River where he was expected to oversee the refurbishing of the perimeter wall of the two-storey house.
His body was buried in the yard.
A missing person's report was filed on April 5, 2017 and an investigation launched.
Over the next few weeks leading up to his arrest on May 25, 2017, Powell denied knowing his cousin's whereabouts, tried to sell his phone but confessed to his former spouse that he killed Mr. Patrick.
Powell told his former spouse that he believed that Mr. Patrick was going to take over the property as he was not informed of the plans for him to work and stay there.
