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The circumstances surrounding the death of Melissa Silvera has gripped Jamaica.

The wife of 52-year-old Jolyan Silvera the former Member of Parliament for Western St Mary, Melissa Silvera, was a beautiful-looking woman, a mother and an accomplished professional.

The 42-year-old was a former student of Immaculate High and went on to obtain a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Virginia. With this background, she made a name for herself as a senior executive at the state-run company, Petrojam.

By all accounts she was well regarded.

In good health, why was she discovered dead in her bed? Sooner or later the Grim Reaper comes but something was amiss here.

Reports are that Melissa Silvera was found dead in her sleep on November 10, 2023, initially said from natural causes.

It later turns out from an autopsy report on December 16, 2023 that she was shot three times in the head.

So what’s the story here?

Last Friday saw the funeral for Melissa, a ceremonial send off where family, colleagues and friends gathered for the service at St Andrew Parish Church in Half-Way Tree.

One couldn’t help be struck by the grieving widower as he hugged and consoled his children while sitting on the pew during the church service. He looked distraught, a man who lost the love of his life, the woman he partnered with. How sad that the children lost their mother this way and could they find answers later in life.

The character of Melissa was referred to again and again at the St Andrew Parish Church service. It must have resonated with Jolyan Silvera as memories must have flooded his consciousness.

A week later, Jolyan Silvera was taken into custody as a suspect in the investigation of the murder of his wife Melissa Silvera. The following day, Friday, he was charged with her murder.

Silvera was astute enough to engage the legal services of one of Jamaica’s top criminal defence attorneys, Peter Champagnie. Champagnie is a King’s Counsel (KC) who took silk in 2020. He has over 25 years of experience.

He was called to the Jamaican Bar in 1995 and holds an LLB from UWI.

The questions everyone wants answers to are why were adjustments made to the husband and wife’s bedroom after Melissa’s death? Why was the floor re-tiled, walls re-painted and why was the bed disposed of?

Perhaps this was part of a redecoration excercise previously agreed upon. Then again it could be quite innocuous. We shall see.

Champagnie has said that Jolyan Silvera maintains his innocence and has denied participating in what is now believed to be a homicide.

This is likely to be the most prominent of his cases to date and will require all Champagnie’s skills to see his client walk away free. He has a lot of thinking and preparation to do. There is a lot on the line.

One is hearing lurid accounts of other parts of her body where Melissa was shot but that has yet to be substantiated.

This case is reminiscent of the OJ Simpson case where the former NFL star’s ex- wife Nicole Brown Simpson body was discovered stabbed to death at her Los Angeles home. Though it was revealed that OJ Simpson did physically abuse Nicole during their marriage, OJ Simpson was acquitted of all charges. This case cemented the stature of OJ Simpson’s defence lawyer Johnnie Cochran. One remembers the famous line about that ill-fitting glove as evidence, “ If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”

Then there is the case of Class von Bulow who was charged and convicted for the attempted murder of his wife Sunny von Bülow who was eventually left in a persistent vegetative state for the rest of her life.

Claus von Bülow hired Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz and on appeal was found not guilty.

Can Champagnie conjure up similar outcomes?

We shall see.