Suspect charged with schoolgirl’s murder in St James

ST JAMES, Jamaica — The man accused of murdering a schoolgirl in Brown’s Lane, St James on Saturday, February 17 has been charged.

He is 55-year-old Courtney Allen, otherwise called ‘Zoo Bug’, a labourer of Granville Drive in St James.

Police say Allen was charged with murder yesterday following an interview in the presence of his attorney and an identification parade. However his court date is yet to be announced.

After being identified as a person of interest following the discovery of the body of 14-year-old Tianna Clarke in an unfinished building in her community, Allen turned himself in to the police on Saturday, February 17.

Tianna had reportedly left her home to go to a local shop, but family members raised an alarm when she did not return.

Community members then went in search of her and found her body with wounds to the head in the building.