The bloody body of Melissa Silvera was first discovered inside her bedroom by her young sons. Their father, Jolyan Silvera, was not at home at the time, having left the previous night after a dispute with his wife.
These details are part of a timeline released by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), which outlines the sequence of events before and after Melissa Silvera’s death at the family’s residence at 2A Diamond Court in Stony Hill, St Andrew, in November 2023.
According to the DPP, Melissa was killed after she got into an argument with Silvera on November 10. The children’s statements said that at about 10:30 p.m., Silvera told his family that he would be leaving the house to go to a meeting. He said he would be back the next day, and Melissa reportedly objected to his leaving.
This was when two of the couple’s children heard them using harsh language toward each other, according to statements from the kids. The children said that after the argument, their father left the house.
Melissa’s body was found the following morning, November 11, first by one of her sons, who was about age 10 at the time. The child went into the bedroom shared by his parents and saw his mother on the floor. The body was lying near the bed with her clothes covered in blood.
At the sight of the devastating scene, he bolted from the room, alerted his brother, and they returned to the room together. The boys checked their mother to see if she was still alive and swiftly tried to get in touch with Silvera on their digital device. After multiple attempts, they successfully contacted him through the Messenger Kids app.
After Silvera spoke to one of his sons, he reportedly began the journey home while alerting the Stony Hill Police Station, according to his witness statement. He said when he got to the house, his wife was at the side of the bed. She was reportedly in a sitting position with her head hanging forward. He said he tried speaking to her and touching her, but there was no reaction from her.
When a first responder arrived later, the officer photographed the body inside the bedroom with his smartphone. The DPP stated that Silvera cried out at the scene, leading to the officer instructing him to cover his wife’s exposed body parts.
Silvera continued to cry at the scene, and the responder ceased his examination of the body.
The first responder was told that Melissa had no known medical condition and said the autopsy would be necessary to determine the cause of death. Afterwards, the House of Tranquillity Funeral Home was contacted, and the body was transferred there.
On December 15, the autopsy was conducted, revealing that Melissa died from multiple gunshot wounds. She was shot three times in the right thigh, the left lower abdomen, and the right lower abdomen. Two projectiles were removed from her body and handed over to investigators.
On December 16, investigators returned to the couple’s home but found the room had been redecorated. The room had different tiles on the floor, newly painted walls, new furniture, and a new mattress. Silvera also changed the tiles in the children’s room, and when he spoke to investigators, he reportedly said he was not aware that he was not allowed to redecorate.
His iPhone and licensed firearms were seized and tested as part of the investigation, revealing that the projectiles came from his Glock pistol. He was subsequently arrested.