Police have in their possession footage that shows St Ann businessman Alfred Whorms was executed at his recently opened business place in Salem, last week Wednesday.
Sixty-six year-old Whorms who had a murder case before the courts was shot dead Wednesday morning, January 18, as he was about to open his hardware store. The Plumline Hardware, near Tamarind Tree, Runaway Bay, St Ann was opened last year. Mr Whorms lived on the upper floor of the building.
Pictures from a camera at the location showed a man with gun in hand shooting Mr Whorms, at point blank range in the head. Mr Whorms fell to the floor and was shot at least three more times. It was all caught on camera and the footage is now with the St Ann police. There appeared to be no attempt to take anything from him or from his body.
Immediately, links were made to a five-year-old murder case against Whorms arising from an incident on his farm in 2011.
Several attempts by the North Coast Times to get details from the St Ann police about their investigations and motive failed. However last week Wednesday, shortly after visiting the scene, ACP in charge of Area 2, Fitz Bailey told the North Coast Times that it was too early to tell whether the murder had anything to do with the case before the courts.
Sources tell the North Coast Times that Whorms had received several threats following the shooting incident on his farm in which 42-year-old Alton Thompson, alias ‘Dave’, a farmer of Essen Castle, St. Ann was killed, April 11, 2011. As news spread about the shooting there was a fiery demonstration and protestors clashed with police in the small community near Alexandria, injuring at least one cop and damaging a police vehicle.
Whorms was later charged with murder.
Police had initially assigned low level security for him as he had reported several threats in the community from persons close to the man he had shot and killed.
But police removed the security as they said the threat had “subsided” and Whorms who had several business interests continued with his life. Last year he opened the new hardware. He was shot dead there Wednesday morning days ahead of his next court hearing.
Murdered before four-year-old murder case heard in court
The case of the man charged for the 2011 murder of a man who was alleged to have trespassed on his property in Grants Mountain, near Alexandria in St. Ann, was yet to be tried after more than four years in the court system. The murder case against Alfred Whorms was listed for the Circuit Court sitting scheduled to run for four weeks, staring next Monday, January 30.
Alfred Whorms, a businessman and farmer from Grants Mountain, was charged with the murder of 42-year-old Alton Thompson, alias ‘Dave’, a farmer of Essen Castle, St. Ann. The incident from which the charge arose occurred on April 4, 2011.
Whorms’ case had been repeatedly put off and had gone to circuit since 2015. As with many other cases, it was not reached at the last sitting late last year.
In fact, in late 2015 it was revealed that the case could not be accommodated in that sitting of the Circuit Court, when the matter was mentioned on Friday, October 16, 2015.
When the matter was mentioned in the St. Ann Circuit Court on that Friday, fifteen months ago, the case was ready for trial. However, it was heard that the trial could not take place as many other cases were before that sitting of the Circuit Court.
High court judge, Justice Lloyd Hibbert presided. The prosecution was represented by crown counsel Cadeen Barnett and deputy director of pubic prosecution, Sharon Milwood-Moore.
Whorms had his bail extended until January 28, 2016. He was on bail at the time of his murder last week, after the case was again put off twice more. Attorney Linton Gordon represented the accused man.
It is alleged that on Monday, April 4, 2011, at about 11 a.m., there was a confrontation between Alfred Whorms, who is a farm and business operator in the Alexandria/Grants Mountain community and Alton Thompson. This confrontation reportedly stemmed from reports that Thompson was seen on a farm operated by Whorms. At that time, residents from the area had alleged that the farm land was under dispute.
Thompson was shot and killed and Whorms reportedly went to the Alexandria police to report the incident. He told the police he had been attacked on his farm by the man who had previously threatened him. Following Mr Thompson’s death angry residents from communities such as Grants Mountain, Essen Castle and Murray Mountain protested. They set up road blocks, burned a building belonging to Mr Whorms’ and damaged a motor vehicle belonging to him. A police vehicle was also damaged and four police officers wounded with missiles thrown by demonstrators
Worms was charged with the murder of Thompson on Friday, April 18 and was subsequently granted bail in the sum of $500,000 when he was first brought before the then St. Ann’s Bay Resident Magistrate Court. Whorms had been repeatedly threatened.
Police had provided surveillance for him but later said it was not necessary as the threat had abated.
