On Thursday, police were called to three scenes across sections of St Catherine and St Andrew, where three separate deaths occurred, each believed to be a case of suicide. The incidents, all reported within 24 hours, have left families and residents grappling with grief and unanswered questions.
One of the victims was identified as 47-year-old Paul “Julius” Elliot, a barber who was found dead in the rural district of Conners, St. Catherine. Reports say that Elliot’s body was found by residents around 8 a.m in the morning. A sheet was tied around his neck as he hung from a balcony.
Just hours later, tragedy struck again, this time in the heart of Greenwich Town, St Andrew. Police from the St. Andrew South division were called to a home on Sixth Street at around 10 p.m. There, they found 23-year-old Kevon Hamilton hanging from a ceiling. Hamilton seemingly took his life by hanging himself from a curtain. His body was found swinging from the ceiling of the residence with the curtain tied around his neck.
The third victim, whose identity has not been disclosed, died from a gunshot earlier that same day. The victim was identified only as a businessman. Police found him inside an apartment complex in St. Andrew. The wound was described by authorities as seemingly “self-inflicted.” Police are still investigating the details surrounding the shooting, but early indications point to suicide.
According to reports, suicide has been a growing crisis that has been quietly escalating in recent years. A report published on February 2, 2025, by the Jamaica Observer brought the crisis to the forefront, revealing that suicide deaths in Jamaica have increased each year since 2021. In 2024, 67 people died by suicide, the highest annual figure since 2001. Reports say that men made up a staggering majority of those deaths, with over eight times more men dying by suicide than women during the 2021 to 2024 period.