CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – THE man who was in custody as a suspect in the shooting-death of Lydia Jacobs and was assisting police with their investigation into the matter, was slapped with three charges including murder.
According to a police communiqué, Alston Phillips of Hamilton Estate, Nevis was formally arrested, cautioned and charged with the murder of Jacobs.
Phillips, said to be a Jamaican, was also charged with two counts of attempted murder.
The 37-year-old Jacobs was reportedly shot at approximately 10:55 p.m. on Friday (Jun. 2) in the yard of her Grace Development Housing residence in Church Ground, Nevis.
SKNVibes understands that she was returning home from work and was transported there by vehicle within which were two of her friends. It is also understood that Phillips allegedly fired a number of shots at the vehicle, thus the two counts of attempted murder.
Jacobs was taken to the Alexandra Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
On the following morning, police had taken Phillips into custody to assist them in their investigation into the crime.
Lydia Jacobs is the second woman to have been killed on Nevis for this year and it had taken to 11 the number of homicides committed in the twin-island Federation for 2017; six on Nevis and five on St. Kitts.
Commenting on the matter, Head of the Crime Directorate, Assistant Commissioner of Police Andre Mitchell said, “I want to commend the team at the Violent Crimes Unit and the Forensic Services Unit for their work on this case so far. I also want to thank all who provided information related to this case, and thank you for coming forward with the information that proved valuable to moving this case forward.”
He added that “this type of police and community engagement yields results. People came forward and we were able to make an arrest”.
The police have indicated that the general public could share information with them by calling any police station, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477(TIPS) or by using the SKN Crime Reporter App on their Smartphone.
