Man charged with murder of popular DJ Jazzy B

Late DJ Jazzy B

By Stuart Wilson

Popular radio station DJ Jazzy B, Sherman Bodden, died on Monday, 9 March after reportedly being involved in a fight.

A 39-year-old man has been charged with murder following the fatal stabbing of 42-year-old radio disc jockey, Sherman Alvin Bodden, popularly known as “Jazzy B”.

The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service has reported that Paul Ricardo Gordon has been charged with one count of murder and was due to appear in court on Tuesday, 17 March.

CITA backs force to stop crime; So Tourists Can Feel Safer

The Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) released a statement last week in support of the Premier, Hon McKeeva Bush’s request to establish a “Special Task Force” to ensure that law and order prevails.

“Our established reputation as a wonderful, safe, family destination was built and nurtured by thousands of hard-working and dedicated people over the years and the great reputation we have earned must remain intact,” read the statement.

“Neither Cayman’s tourism industry, nor our people, must ever be allowed to come under threat by anyone, and we therefore commend and will strongly support all efforts to stamp out all elements of crime.”

CITA’s is the most recent voice added to a Cayman-wide chorus calling for swift, immediate action to ameliorate rising crime.

In a joint meeting of the Chamber of Commerce and the Royal Caribbean Islands Police Service (RCIPS) last month, Chamber President Stuart Bostock said that new, powerful technological tools are available and that “ordinary men and women have chosen to get involved and contribute solutions to fighting crime.”

Keynote speaker at the Chamber event was Police Commissioner David Baines who said that 2009 marked the beginning of gang activity in Grand Cayman

“We had eight murders in 2009 versus three the year before,” he said. “What is different is the escalation of gun crimes. It has led to Caymanian young men shooting and killing each other.”

This year has seen already the senseless shooting of a four-year-old boy, Jeremiah Barnes, as he sat in a car at a gas station, an incident called by Commissioner Baines as the country’s “wake-up call.”

Recognizing that the RCIPS does work diligently to address the issue of crime in Cayman, the tourism group said those efforts, however, are not sufficient due to inadequately checked borders and “few consequences” for criminal activities.

A similar sentiment was expressed by the Chamber president, who told the gathering last month that greater emphasis should be placed on protecting Cayman borders and checking on who is coming into the country, not where they are coming from.

“Weapons coming into the Cayman Islands are coming through our weakened borders,” said Mr Bostock, who said that a multi-faceted approach to fighting crime must be taken that included “social, economic, and educational development” to address the rise in drug offences, gun crimes, thefts, burglaries, and robberies, all of which are more prevalent during economic recession.

“If left unaddressed, the future of tourism will include installation of guarded perimeters around our resorts,” according to the CITA statement, “turning our authentic visitor experiences into a compound of distractions in the hope that our tourists don’t get to see what is going on outside.”

The Tourism Association said that without a concerted effort to stem the increase in crime, the number of tourists inevitably will decline, and Cayman will be unable to attract the 400,000 visitors per year needed to sustain the tourism economy, which many believe forms the cornerstone of the country’s economic health.

Cayman’s “typical” family-oriented visitors frequently returned to the Islands, and a “significant” number purchased vacation homes or condos, or established businesses, in a safe, friendly, tax-free environment, a scenario also likely to end if crime continues to rise.

“The ability to rent out these vacation homes, and the impact crime has on real estate values will also send a crippling wave through our entire economy that many businesses and Caymanians have thrived on for the last three decades,” said the Association’s statement.

Less than two decades ago, the economy of the entire state of Florida was brought to its knees after several tourists, including a British couple who made a wrong turn into a crime-infested area of Miami, were shot and killed in what was then a rising tide of drugs, crime and violence in the state’s largest county and its largest metropolitan area.

The state suffered not only a drop in tourism, but a corresponding drop in new business, as well.

Since the responsibility for policing and the criminal justice system in the Cayman Islands rests with the Governor and RCIPS, said the Tourism Association, “we ask them both: At what point will you concede that taking the same actions will yield the same results, and so crime will continue to climb until our tourism economy becomes yet another fatal victim?”

The statement concluded with a plea for “aggressive policing measures” to bring safety and peace once known here back to the Cayman Islands, ensuring the well being of its people and the economic health of the country.

New boutique hotel opens

Jo-Anne Brown, Mike Brown co-owner, Sally Hendricken resort manager, Ben Fisher co-owner and Kate Fisher. (Photos by Christopher.tobutt@gmail.com)


Riviera residential boutique hotel

As the sun set over South Sound on Saturday, 6 March, invited guests, tourism industry players and potential investors were in attendance at a gala reception and ribbon-cutting ceremony that opened the first phase of the new Riviera Resort, a resort combined with an investment opportunity, and one of the Cayman Islands’ newest attractions.

The guests and celebrants were greeted by the co-owners and developers of the Riviera, Mike Brown and Ben Fisher, as well as its staff, who helped make the project possible.

“This development has been a resort since the 1970s,” said Mr Fisher, “and many people will remember Coconut Harbor Blue Parrot resort used to be here. What we are re-developing is going to be Grand Cayman’s first five-star boutique resort, offering European style with Caymanian hospitality to resort guests from around the world.”

The development will consist of 58 luxury suites from studio apartments to three-bedroom luxury penthouse apartments, which are available to purchase, giving them the opportunity to stay at the resort and enjoy all its amenities for 42 nights of the year as resort guests.

The remainder of the year, the property will revert to a hotel suite, earning its owners rental income.

Situated on the coast in the picturesque community of South Sound, just minutes from the town centre, the property was originally developed as a dive resort called Casa Bertmar, earning a reputation for many years as one of the prime spots for near-shore diving on Grand Cayman.

“When the owners are here, one of the key differences is that they are in their own luxury suite,” said Mr Fisher. “Toothbrushes are in the holder; their artwork is on the walls … they are at home.”

When the resident leaves their accommodation, they do not need to take their belongings; neither do they need to worry about them getting stolen by renters.

Their possessions are stored in air-conditioned storage units keeping them safe, while their room reverts to being a hotel suite, giving them an income from their investment.

“This solves one of the big problems of ‘vacation’ ownership,” said Mr Fisher, “which is that typically, you either choose whether you want to live in it and have it really beautiful and use it for yourself, or whether you want to rent it out, in which case you are often worried about your personal possessions, and so on.

“Very often you get stuck between the two,” he said. “We have solved that problem for you.”

As a resort, the Riviera offers a full range of resort facilities, which includes a fine-dining restaurant, air conditioned with service outside on the waterfront, two bars including an at-pool bar, a Swiss-style wellness spa, gym, and business centre facilities.

The resort manager, Sally Hendricken, said that a second phase of the development will consist of a taller building on the opposite side of the pool deck.

“That phase will start in the summer of this year,” said Ms Hendricken, “for completion in Fall 2011. It will consist of 28 one-, two- and 3-bedroom luxury suites.”

Justice achieved for Murdered Estella Scott-Roberts

The late Estella Scott Roberts. 1975 - 2008. (Photo by Lennon Christian)

On Feburary 22, 2010 Larry Ricketts and Kirkland Henry were found guilty of slaying Estella Scott-Roberts, in a crime that sent shock waves throughout Cayman. Each defendant had been found in possession of a cell phone belonging to Mrs Scott-Roberts, and that forensic evidence also was recovered from Mr Henry and the deceased. She said detailed statements from both men included admissions of the crime to police during questioning.

Cayman Juice Comment: I hate unanswered questions. So was this a crime of opportunity? To get the victims cell phone and other possessions? Was she violated? None of these questions were answered, because apparently no one cared to ask about the reason for such a horrific crime from these men. Why go through the effort of burning someone's car after a crime unless it is personal? Which begs the question...were the convicted men "known to the police"? Had they been in jail for domestic violence, placed there by the actions of Mrs. Scott-Roberts, gotten released and took out heir vengeance on her. Guess we won't know without some digging.

“They have rightly been convicted on overwhelming evidence,” said Detective Chief Inspector Peter Kennett, of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS), the officer in charge of the investigation, “and will spend the rest of their days in prison.” Now that the trial is over, the board members of the Estella Scott-Roberts Foundation speak out, 16 months after the murder of Estella Scott-Roberts, for whom the foundation is named.

“The Foundation and its directors have refrained from public comment on the case until it was completed, as we firmly held to the principle of allowing the justice system to run its course in dealing with the persons accused, and now convicted, of this heinous crime,” said Vice-Chairperson Ms Melanie McLaughlin.

“While the verdict provided by the Hon Chief Justice Anthony Smellie in the murder trial can never give us back the vivacious social activist, wife, daughter and friend,” she said, “it does provide her with justice and sends a clear message that such evil acts will not go unpunished in our community.”

The Foundation, set up in October 2008 by Ms Scott-Roberts’ husband, Mr Rayle Roberts, to honor his wife’s memory, envisioned an organisation that would continue to address the social issues that Estella passionately supported. It is a licensed non-profit company in the Cayman Islands, and its board is comprised of Mr Roberts, chairperson; Ms McLaughlin, vice-chairperson; Novelette Ebanks, treasurer; Tammy Ebanks-Bishop, secretary; Andrea Bryan, MBE, JP, director; and Sara Collins, director.

One of the Foundation’s goals is to advocate for a life free of violence for all, a human right afforded every man, woman and child in Cayman society; however, this right is violated on a daily basis through instances of gender violence, particularly against women; gang violence, mainly against other males; and pervasive child abuse.

“The Foundation is concerned that systematic cultural violence will continue to tear at our social fabric,” said Ms McLaughlin, “resulting in future tragedies such as Estella’s untimely and brutal cold-blooded murder.”

She was murdered after leaving a West Bay restaurant, where she had celebrated her 34th birthday with friends on 10 October 2008. Her body was found the following day in a burned-out car. The two men charged in her murder were tried and convicted in February 2010.

Foundation Chairperson Mr Rayle Roberts said he was thankful to see the proceedings come to an end with the guilty verdicts of both perpetrators in the murder trial, and he acknowledged that these acts of violence were pointing to a larger problem within the community that needs to be addressed.

“We have two options as a society,” he said. “We have the choice to allow fear to paralyze us, giving criminals free rein while we stand as silent, fearful witnesses to our own demise, or we can choose to face that fear and be the change that we wish to see in our community.

“We can stand up and be counted as a voice for justice,” he said, “a voice strengthened by faith and heartened by the belief that the future of our country is at stake.”

The Estella Scott-Roberts Foundation aims to be an active change agent to engage men and women in addressing the issue of ending violence in the Cayman Islands. Persons who wish to volunteer with the Foundation are encouraged to submit an application form that can be downloaded from the website at www.esrfoundation.org.ky.

“The Foundation continues to seek financial support,” said Ms McLaughlin, ”to further Estella’s vision of gender equality and a life free of violence for all.”

For more information on the Estella Scott-Roberts Foundation, visit www.esrfoundation.org.ky or email esrfoundation@gmail.com