MURDER OR MANSLAUGHTER?
– WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE TRIAL
An analysis prepared exclusively for the North Coast Times
OCHO RIOS, St Ann; March 12,2026
Strong emotion is being expressed about the killing, March 4, 2026, just over a week ago of 16-year-old Devonie Shearer, Ochi High School student, by his schoolmate. The 17-year-old accused has been charged with murder and is being held at a facility outside the parish. Some people following the case have come to a verdict and decided in their own minds what’s to happen. The North Coast Times has been listening to and reading questions being asked about what’s next. We got the perspectives of two senior St Ann attorneys for the analysis that follows. We urge readers to remember that under our system, one is innocent until proven guilty and everyone has the Constitutional right to a fair and impartial court hearing, as the accused in this case should have.
So, here goes:
LET’S START WITH A DEFINITION OF MURDER. WE ASKED THE ATTORNEYS, WHAT DOES THE LAW CALL MURDER:
Murder is generally defined as the intention to kill or cause the person serious bodily harm. There must be an intention. If there is no intention to kill and a death results, as in road traffic accidents, the offence of manslaughter will be preferred.
Q: HOW COME THERE WAS NO INTENT AND THE YOUNG MAN WAS CHARGED FOR MURDER AND FORMER MP JOYLAN SILVERA WAS CHARGED FOR MANSLAUGHTER?
A. Joylan Silvera was charged with murder, but he pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter. This young man could plead guilty to manslaughter, but that’s all speculation. The charge is murder. Each case must turn on its own facts or circumstances. While the facts of these two cases are obviously different, one of the main issues arising from the prosecution’s case in the Jolyan Silvera matter is that there is no other witness. The same is not likely to be true about the death of the schoolboy, as reports are that there was an altercation between the schoolboys in the town of Ocho Rios on the previous day and the incident that resulted in the death of the schoolboy, Devonie Shearer, occurred on the compound of the school. There appears to me a chain of events leading to the death of the schoolboy. Unconfirmed reports indicate that there is a video circulating on social media showing a fight between the two schoolboys in Ocho Rios.
Q. WILL HE BE TRIED IN THE FAMILY COURT OR IN BIG COURT?
A. He will be tried in the high court division…the Circuit Court. The Family Court is not for those matters.
Q. WILL HE (THE ACCUSED SCHOOLBOY) BE TRIED IN ST ANN?
A. St Ann has a division of the Circuit Court, which is a division of the high court that sits in each parish. He could be tried there. It is highly likely.
Q. SILVERA GOT ONLY 20 YEARS AND TEN MONTHS. IS IT LIKELY THIS BOY COULD GET AS MUCH AS THAT?
A. Sentencing for a murder conviction starts at a minimum of 20 years. The judge has discretion in the sentencing based on many factors. A social inquiry report will outline, among other issues, the background, behaviour and temperament of the accused. He may plead to the lesser offence, manslaughter. He may say he was provoked. We don’t know. To discuss sentencing now is highly premature. It is not known what the evidence will be. At this point and until the facts are established, the case file is completed, a plea is entered and the case is heard in court, one can comment in the context of the law and judicial precedents.
