RESIDENTS of Freeman Street, East La Penitence, were left in a state of disbelief Wednesday afternoon when news spread that 33-year-old Guyoil security guard, Jermaine Bristol, allegedly murdered his longtime girlfriend, 24-year-old Shenece Lawrence.
Bristol turned himself into police shortly after and led them back to the murder scene, where, according to reports, a knife was still sticking out of the victim’s neck. The murder came as a shock to many of the neighbours, and the young man’s family, who live in the same street as there had been no indication that anything was amiss in the house prior to the police arriving.

Neighbours did not hear arguments, strange noises, or screams coming from the premises. “We ain’t hear nothing, nothing, people only know when the police turn up. Is he had to go and tell the police about this crime, because nobody didn’t know nothing,” said a neighbour from across the street.

Even the owner of the property, who lives in an adjoining apartment in the same yard, said he did not hear anything strange. However, he recalled hearing the suspect on the phone earlier that day inviting the victim over for lunch. There were also reports that Bristol was seen with a knife earlier in the day. The couple was previously living together at the home of the victim’s mother in Broad Street, but moved to their current location as of last June. Lawrence, reportedly, had left the apartment and started back staying with her mother last Thursday, but returned Sunday to go to church with the suspect. She was not seen in the area again until Wednesday morning.

Family members of the couple confirmed that the relationship was a tumultuous one; nonetheless, the couple apparently had plans to marry in December. According to the victim’s mother, Lawrence had plans to leave the relationship and this might have provoked Bristol. “I guess it was because she was threatening to leave, from what she was telling me is that she was planning to come back home and even further to give up the relationship. A few days ago she keep saying that she wants to come back home because of the situation. Sometimes she would stay over here. She slept here up to [Tuesday] night and then left [yesterday] morning,” her mother said.

The owner of the property confirmed that the couple would have occasional arguments, but indicated that, to the best of his knowledge, it never got physical. Bristol’s family also said that while the couple did have their occasional fights, they do not recollect Bristol ever getting physical, which made the murder all the more baffling for them. “They’re together over six years now, they break up and make up back. But Jermaine is not this kind of person…”expressed Bristol’s aunt Yvonne Morris. “She came here just this morning [Wednesday], she looked beautiful with her nice red lipstick. She came to see if he was here and I told her that he’s not here; next thing you know someone said, look Jermaine and a van load of police gone in the yard, and I run up the road and they said: Shenece dead, and I said: Shenece can’t dead. I faint, because I know Jermaine can’t do that, where Jermaine get strength from to kill. I still can’t believe Jermaine do that. Jermaine is not that type of person, Jermaine is a quiet, loving person, shy.”

Lawrence’s mom, however, said the picture was different on her end, and she recalled incidents of Bristol being physically abusive to her daughter, but no matter what measures she took to get her daughter to end the relationship, Shenece would always return to Bristol.

She, after pressuring her daughter to refrain from seeing Bristol, resulted in Shenece sneaking out on several occasions from her home, she eventually resolved to stop fighting it. The murder, she says, came as no surprise to her. “To be honest, it did not come as a shock to me because they had problems before. One time they were not supposed to be talking to each other, but she sneaked out and he took her to a hotel and they had a big fight there, he throw away all of her clothing and her phone,” she recalled.

“The security from the hotel called me, so I went and I got her and brought her home. But since she was of age, even though I was angry and I wanted her to take action, it was still left up to her and I realise that she didn’t want to pursue with whatever. That night at the hotel that was the first that I know about it [the physical abuse], I don’t know if it used to happen before and she never said anything. Then it was only recently that she tell me that since they’re there living [in Freeman Street] they had fights about three times already.”
Her mother recollected how it was that she heard of her daughter’s demise. “One of my daughters she was going to the house and she said she saw the whole place cordon off and a whole set of police and people saying that this boy kill he girlfriend. She called me crying that’s how I know that something was wrong, so I got my shoes and called a car and headed out. My son got there before me and he confirmed that she was killed,” she recollected amidst tears.