Prosecutors on Friday revealed that Leoda Bradshaw, a 34-year-old US Navy officer, made a down payment to three men, including a cousin of hers, to murder veteran politician Phillip Paulwell’s daughter and the child’s mother.
The shocking allegations were outlined in a statement on Friday by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Paula Llewellyn, who also confirmed that Bradshaw was in a relationship with Paulwell, had a child with him, and though they were not married, “considered him to be her spouse”.
Bradshaw has been subsequently charged with two counts of conspiracy to murder, two counts of conspiracy to kidnapping, two counts of kidnapping, and two counts of murder.
According to the DPP, the capital murder counts against Bradshaw are “based on the allegations of a contract-for-hire arrangement” where she (Bradshaw) is alleged to have paid persons a sum of money to kidnap and murder Toshyna Patterson and her 10-month-old daughter, Sarayah Paulwell, “contrary to section (2)(1)(e)(i) of the Offences Against the Person Act”.
On Friday, the police confirmed that the missing mom and child were brutally murdered and their bodies burnt and disposed of.
Bradshaw’s cousin, Roland Balfour, and two other men – Roshane Miller and Richard Brown – have also been charged for their alleged roles in the murder and kidnapping case that has gripped the nation.
In outlining the allegations in the case, the DPP said Bradshaw arrived in Jamaica on September 6, 2023.
The crown alleges that on the same day she communicated with the three now accused men.
During those conversations among the four up to September 9, there was an alleged agreement made under Bradshaw’s direction for the men, including her cousin, to kidnap Patterson and her daughter, the latter being the product of a relationship between Paulwell and Patterson, the DPP said.
Phillip Paulwell
“This plan (to kill the mother and child) also contained part payment of a certain amount of money by Bradshaw to the men for the successful execution of the plan,” the chief prosecutor stated.
It is further alleged that on Saturday, September 9, Patterson and her baby girl were taken from their home on Gilmore Drive in St Andrew by Bradshaw “in a tinted SUV motor vehicle”.
She is alleged to have subsequently delivered the mother and child to the men, including two of her co-conspirators, in an undisclosed section of St Andrew.
Paula Llewellyn
“The crown further alleges that Patterson and her daughter were forcibly taken to an area in East Kingston and murdered by these said men who were armed with a firearm,” the DPP stated.
Voluntary Bills of Indictment were proffered in the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston earlier this week in respect of Brown and Miller, who are both scheduled to return to court later this month when their matters are to be mentioned.
Bradshaw and Balfour appeared in the Home Circuit Court on Friday by way of a Voluntary Bill of Indictment, which bypassed the case’s progression in the parish court, and being brought directly to the High Court.
The cousins are scheduled to return to the Home Circuit Court on December 1, 2023, when their matters are to be mentioned.
Meanwhile, the detailed charges that have been laid against the four co-accused are as follows:
1. Leoda Bradshaw indicted for:
• Conspiracy to kidnap Toshyna Patterson on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
• Conspiracy to kidnap Sarayah Paulwell on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
• Conspiracy to murder Toshyna Patterson on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
• Conspiracy to murder Sarayah Paulwell on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
• Kidnapping of Toshyna Patterson on the 9th day of September 2023
• Kidnapping of Sarayah Paulwell on the 9th day of September 2023
• Capital murder of Toshyna Patterson on the 9th day of September 2023
• Capital murder concerning Sarayah Paulwell on the 9th day of September 2023
2. Richard Brown indicted for:
• Conspiracy to kidnap Toshyna Patterson on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
• Conspiracy to kidnap Sarayah Paulwell on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
• Conspiracy to murder Toshyna Patterson on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
• Conspiracy to murder Sarayah Paulwell on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
• Kidnapping of Toshyna Patterson on the 9th day of September 2023
• Kidnapping of Sarayah Paulwell on the 9th day of September 2023
• Murder of Toshyna Patterson on the 9th day of September 2023
• Murder of Sarayah Paulwell on the 9th day of September 2023
3. Roshane Miller indicted for:
• Accessory before the fact to kidnapping of Toshyna Patterson on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
• Accessory before the fact to kidnapping of Sarayah Paulwell on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
• Accessory before the fact to murder of Toshyna Patterson on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
• Accessory before the fact to murder of Sarayah Paulwell on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
4. Roland Balfour indicted for:
• Accessory before the fact to kidnapping of Toshyna Patterson on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
• Accessory before the fact to kidnapping of Sarayah Paulwell on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
• Accessory before the fact to murder of Toshyna Patterson on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
• Accessory before the fact to murder of Sarayah Paulwell on diverse dates between the 6th and 9th day of September 2023
