Court frees man accused of murder after Crown fails to rebut self-defence
Published:Wednesday | January 28, 2026 | 9:56 PM
A St Catherine man was acquitted on Monday after prosecutors failed to disprove his self-defence claim in an alleged murder stemming from a family dispute.
Tajae Hall had been charged with the murder of 22-year-old Donate Wright, who died from injuries sustained during a physical confrontation with Hall.
When the matter came up for mention on Monday, Attorney-at-Law Priscilla Jennings submitted that Hall had acted in self-defence at the time of the incident.
After reviewing the evidence and the considering the prosecutions agreement, the St Catherine Circuit Court freed Hall.
The incident occurred on January 5, 2022, during a family dispute in Church Pen, Old Harbour, St Catherine.
It's alleged that family dispute turned physical after Wright intervened in an altercation between Hall and his female companion, who is Wright’s aunt.
The men were separated, but it is alleged that Wright later returned armed with a knife and stabbed Hall twice. Hall reportedly disarmed Wright and stabbed him once in the abdomen.
Both men were assisted to hospital, where they were admitted. Wright later succumbed to his injuries, while Hall was treated and subsequently released into police custody.
An investigation by the Old Harbour Criminal Investigation Branch led to Hall being charged with murder
-Rasbert Turner
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