(CMR) A Jamaican man confessed to killing his former girlfriend's eight-year-old son because she ended their relationship. Ochest Rose (42) reportedly said he killed his former stepson Galen Buchanan because he wanted the woman to “feel the same pain he was going through.”
He pleaded guilty on Friday, 11 February and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 1.
According to the Jamaica Gleaner, Galen’s body – his hands tied behind him – was found in Kingston Harbour, near the Manley Meadows housing development in east Kingston, on January 23, 2020, two days after he went missing from his father’s home.
Galen’s mother, Tamar Lewis, broke up with Rose shortly before her son was reported missing, ending their eight-month romantic relationship after he tried to strangle her. Lewis told the Gleaner that she had discovered that Rose had a violent history and had served time in prison in the United Kingdom.
She also learned that the man had been jailed for burning down a house in an attempt to kill a previous spouse and her children.
“I never expect this. They were really close. Any time Phil (Rose) is here, the two a dem sit down on him father car down the lane and the two a dem reason like a big man,” Lewis told the Gleaner of Galen’s relationship with Rose.
Rose was reportedly encouraged by coworkers to destroy furniture in Lewis' home after she refused to continue a relationship with him.
He told detectives that he opened up to some of his co-workers about his predicament after Lewis rejected his requests to rekindle their romance.
The Gleaner reported that Rose, who is also known as ‘Phillip Williams’, left his workplace and again confronted his ex-girlfriend, this time at her place of employment in St Andrew.
According to a statement he gave to the police, “He got down on his knees and begged her not to end the relationship.” However she again rejected him.
He reportedly went to the home they once shared, kicked down the doors, and destroyed a refrigerator, a television set and a fan.
He told Lewis he destroyed the items because she broke his heart and that he would let her feel the pain he was experiencing.
He however told coworkers he did not want to physically harm Lewis but wanted to take something she loved.
Galen mysteriously vanished from his father’s St Andrew home on January 21, 2020 minutes after Rose visited the home. Rose later admitted to detectives that he was able to lure Galen from the house by telling him they were going for ice cream.
He then took the child and threw him into the sea. The boy's body was fished from the water later.
Rose called his ex after the boy's body was found and offered to offset funeral expenses.
He was apprehended in Trelawny days after the killing.
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