Grenada: Josiah ‘Jonty’ Robinson murder suspect presented in court

Grenada has been focused on the Josiah ‘Jonty’ Robinson case for a long time now. Following increasing public pressure and a prolonged investigation, the authorities recently came out with a suspect in the case, much to the relief of many.

‘Jonty’ Robinson’s case was important news in Grenada but gained international recognition when it got picked up by significant personalities around the world. The fact that he was part of the LGBTQ community made many, especially on social media, question the motivation behind this senseless killing.

What seemed to make matters worse, was that the initial autopsy failed to deliver as it listed ‘accidental drowning’ as the cause of death. This ultimately turned out to be untrue which led to even more speculation.

Forensic Pathologist Professor Hurbert Daisely was employed by the family of the deceased to conduct another autopsy. This subsequent autopsy revealed that the cause of death wasn’t drowning but manual strangulation.

Jonty belonged to Grenada, and was a resident of Beaulieu, St George. Tyler Perry, a famous Hollywood personality and celebrity publicist Yvette Noel-Schure came together to offer a reward of $100,000 to anyone who could give information leading to a conviction in the case.

Another big leap, in the eyes of the public at least, was when the Caribbean diaspora came together at the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn, where cards and posters of #justiceforjonty were plentiful. This acted as a reminder to the authorities that the public was unwilling to let the case die down without the appropriate measures being taken.

Robinson was an openly gay man which brings into question the nature of the crime. He was found dead at the popular BBC beach in the Mourne Rouge area, just south of Grenada’s capital. Although his death was ruled as a murder, the Grenada Police Force stated, following initial investigations that there was no reason to believe that the crime had racial or homophobic motivations.

Recently though, an unemployed man has been booked as the accused in the Josiah ‘Jonty’ Robinson murder case. The accused has been identified as 28-year-old Javier Raymond, of Circular Drive, Grand Anse Housing Scheme, St. George.

The accused made his first appearance at the St Georges Magistrate’s Court today and has been remanded to His Majesty’s Prisons. According to the schedule presented, Javier Raymond will be brought to court again on Thursday, October 5^th, 2023.

For the benefit of understanding the timeline, it must be noted that Josiah ‘Jonty’ Robinson was found dead on BBC beach on the 18^th of June, 2023. Some have questioned the authorities as to why it took four months and immense public pressure from around the world, to charge a suspect.

On the other hand, there are some who are just glad that the case is finally showing progress and heading in the right direction. More details on the suspect and the details of the case are yet to be disclosed. What is known for sure though, is that not just Grenada, but the whole world is looking at this case with a keen eye.