By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

BEFORE she was released from prison, the 39-year-old woman killed on Ragged Island Street on January 31 sent threatening messages to a woman who was killed on South Street and Hospital Lane on January 21, Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander said yesterday.

The 39-year-old woman, whose identity has not been officially confirmed, was shot alongside two other people but was the only one killed.

Commissioner Fernander said the woman was in prison for three months, charged with causing harm to Dejah Kemp, the woman killed on January 21.

“During her time in prison, she was sending text messages that ‘when I come out, I will deal with you,’” Commissioner Fernander said.

“(Dejah) never told anybody. She told her mom and them, but they just took it lightly, never reported it to the police, and a few days, (the 39-year-old) came out on a Friday, and the young lady (Dejah Kemp) on Hospital Lane was dead Sunday night.

“(The 39-year-old) was questioned, but she denied it. We didn’t have any evidence at that time, and she was released pending. Days later, she now is dead.”

Police have repeatedly said most murders are retaliatory.

Commissioner Fernander said over the weekend, police arrested a suspect wanted in connection with the shooting death of 16-year-old Davinique Gray, who was murdered in her Nassau Village home on January 6. He said the suspect was found in the Berry Islands.

Davinique was the country’s eighth murder victim. Shinikia Johnson, the girl’s mother, was charged with harbouring a fugitive, a man police believe was the intended target of her daughter’s killer.

Commissioner Fernander spoke during a meeting involving Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, Cabinet ministers and religious leaders about recent crime trends in the country.

He gave an update on the 25 murders for the year. He said in January, 1357 suspects were arrested and 704 people charged.

He said the Royal Bahamas Police Force will soon launch a plan for the major gangs in the country, adding that the majority of crimes result from them.