Omar Collymore co-accused in murder of ex-girlfriend pleads guilty, freed due to time served

Shaquilla Edwards, one of the men accused of conspiring with Omar Collymore and others to murder Collymore's former girlfriend, is a free man after being given time served following his guilty plea to conspiracy to murder.

Edwards was on Thursday sentenced to seven years and six months' imprisonment but was released after the court credited him for the time he had already spent in custody.

The sentence was handed down by Justice Chester Stamp in the Home Circuit Court.

Edwards, along with Omar Collymore, Carey Jonas, Dwayne Pink and Michael Adams, had been scheduled to stand trial earlier this month on charges of conspiracy to murder, shooting with intent and illegal possession of a firearm.

However, the trial date was rescheduled after the prosecution requested additional time.

The defence, in the meantime, indicated its intention to make submissions for the case to be dismissed and was granted permission to file written submissions by September 4. The prosecution is to respond before the parties make oral submissions on September 18.

Collymore and his co-defendants are to stand trial on charges of conspiracy to murder, shooting with intent and illegal possession of a firearm.

All except Jonas had previously appeared alongside Collymore in the trial for the double murder of Simone Collymore and her driver, Winston Walters.

Collymore, Pink and Adams were convicted of the murders, while Edwards was convicted of conspiracy to murder.

According to the Crown, the complainant, who was involved in a three-year intimate relationship with Collymore, was shot at on December 23, 2017, while travelling along Sandy Park Road in Kingston.

It is alleged that men travelling in a white motor car opened fire on her vehicle, damaging it.

The woman had reportedly ended her relationship with Collymore about two months before his wife was killed.

Investigators allege that Collymore arranged to meet the woman in December to exchange a gift after inviting her to lunch two days earlier and giving her the wrong item.

The alleged attack occurred just days before the murders of his wife and her driver.

Collymore, Pink and Adams were found guilty on May 15, 2024, following a four-month trial for the double murders and conspiracy to murder.

They were sentenced in July.

Collymore received two life sentences and was ordered to serve 46 years and six months before becoming eligible for parole, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Adams, identified by the prosecution as the contract killer, also received two life sentences and must serve 42 years and six months before becoming eligible for parole.

Pink was sentenced to two life terms and ordered to serve 32 years and six months before becoming eligible for parole.

Edwards, whom the court found had withdrawn from the murder plot before the killings, was convicted only of conspiracy to murder and sentenced to one year.

Attorney-at-law Diane Jobson represents Collymore, Vanessa Taylor represents Pink, Sanjay Smith represents Adams, Vivian Wilson represents Jonas, and Peter McDonald represents Edwards.

- Tanesha Mundle

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