Killer cop faces judgment

The fate of Police Constable Patrick Walters will be decided on Friday when he returns to court for sentencing after admitting responsibility for the death of his girlfriend, 20-year-old D’Jonnay Graham, in a case that shocked the quiet rural community of Richmond, St Mary.

Reports indicate that, around 9:15 p.m. on Wednesday, June 25, the two were having an argument at Graham’s residence in Richmond, St Mary when Walters allegedly shot her. The lawmen were summoned and, upon their arrival, both individuals were found suffering from gunshot wounds.

They were taken to the hospital where Graham was pronounced dead and Walters hospitalised.

For more than a year, the case wound its way through the courts and attracted public attention because the accused was a serving police officer.

Walters was initially charged with murder but, in July, he pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter. He also admitted to using a firearm to commit a felony.

The matter was investigated by the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), which prepared a file and submitted it to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). In a ruling dated July 17, 2025, the ODPP directed that Walters be charged in connection with Graham’s death.

Walters was originally scheduled to be sentenced on September 25, 2026, but the proceedings were postponed. He is now expected to learn his punishment when the case resumes in the Home Circuit Court on October 2.

The upcoming sentencing has drawn comparisons to the high-profile case of former St Mary Western Member of Parliament Jolyan Silvera, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the killing of his wife, Melissa Silvera.

Last year, Silvera was sentenced to 20 years and 10 months in prison, after receiving 20 years for manslaughter and 20 years and 10 months for using a firearm to commit a felony, with both sentences ordered to run concurrently. He must serve at least 13 years before becoming eligible for parole.