Found shot execution-style

By NAVARDO SAUNDERS,Freeport News Reporter

Bahamian College Student Joseph Darius Burrows, 22, was discovered dead in Mudleak Mandeville, Jamaica yesterday, five days after he was abducted and robbed.

The aspiring doctor was shot execution-style, as the bullet entered the back of his head and exited through the front.

Jamaican Police Press Liaison Officer Corporal Rovan Sammanas told The Freeport News in a telephone interview that no motive had been established for the brutal killing, as details were sketchy, and investigators were still at the scene collecting evidence last night.

"We really don't have much information at this time," Corporal Sammanas said. "Investigators are still trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together."

Sammanas wasn't sure who or what time Joseph's body was discovered.

He, however, confirmed that investigators are investigating video

surveillance of a black male with a huge overbite withdrawing money from an Automatic Teller Machine using Joseph's ATM card.

Joseph's father, Stephen, who has been in Jamaica since Sunday to assist police with their investigation, confirmed that the murdered man was his only son.

Joseph's family in Freeport was grief-stricken after learning of his violent murder.

They screamed and hollered in frustration and anger for the boy who they say was a model husband, father, son and brother.

His sister, Shaniqua Hutchison, described him as a humble and kind person with dreams of becoming a doctor.

Joseph, a 1999 graduate of Freeport Anglican High School, loved to play the steel drum and was a member of Freeport High's popular Steel Band.

His mother Moreen has cried continuously since he went missing, and after hearing the news that her son was found dead, family said she became numb and her body, cold like ice.

Joseph, who attended Northern Caribbean University in Mandeville, where he studied biology, is her only son.

He and his wife of three years, Altemarae, a Jamaican, lived in an apartment in Mandeville with their two-year-old daughter, Tijana.

Altemarae reported Joseph missing Saturday night after she could not get him on his cellular phone.

Joseph had gone out to get Tijana a corn on the cob from a nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The trip takes 10 to 15 minutes, but Joseph was gone for more than an hour before calling and informing Altemarae that he was going to a party.

According to Hutchison, that's when Altemarae knew something was wrong because Joseph is a Christian and doesn't go to parties.

Hutchison said the next day, Sunday, someone called Altemarae and told her that he knows where Joseph is; that Joseph was in a parish called Ocho Rios and she needs to go and get him before he is killed.

"The person told Altemarae 'Im warning you. Go and get him before they kill him,'" Hutchison said in an interview on Tuesday.

The caller instructed Altemarae to bring along a police officer and when she gets to Ocho Rios ask for someone by the name of Bain.

The caller said Bain would tell them where Joseph is.

But, Hutchison said when Altemarae and an officer found Bain he denied any involvement in Joseph's disappearance.

After that the search continued for Joseph until today when he was found dead.

Hutchison said Joseph was an upright young man, who was not involved in any unsavoury act.

She said the only motive for his abduction could be robbery, noting that his kidnappers used his ATM card to empty his bank account.

Hutchison said Joseph, who has been attending school in Jamaica for four years, was never in any trouble, adding that he was one year away from obtaining his bachelor's degree in biology, which would have taken him a step closer to pursuing his dream of becoming a doctor.

SHOT DEAD — Bahamain college student Joseph Burrows was discovered dead in Mudleak, Mandeville, Jamaica yesterday.

FAMILY ON HOLIDAY – Bahamian student Joseph Burrows, whose body was found in Jamaica yesterday, with his wife Altemarae and two-year-old daughter Tijana. The family photo was taken in August in Freeport while the couple were on holiday from Northern Caribbean University in Jamaica, where Joseph is studying biology and Altemarae is studying counseling.