Man seen leaving house asks for help with transportation, leaves note.

By Sr. Correspondent, Antoine Craigwell

(New York, NY) - Once again the specter of homophobic violence reared its ugly head in the island nation of Jamaica with the discovery by police on Wednesday, Sept 9 of the body of British Honorary Consul John Terry in his bed. According to Jamaican police reports, Terry's body was discovered at his home in Mount Carey, near Anchovy in St James, not far from Montego Bay.

 

New Zealander John Terry, 65, had lived in Jamaica since 1967 and was a British honorary consul. The hotelier and coffee bean farmer was made a Member of the British Empire in 1993. Photo / AP
Karl Angell, communications director for the Jamaican Constabulary Force, said the post-mortem report stated that Terry, 65, died as a result of asphyxia due to ligature strangulation associated with other injuries to the neck and head.

Detective Deputy Superintendent Michael Garrick of the Jamaican Constabulary is reported to have said that Terry's body had sustained severe head injuries to his head, consistent with being hit with a heavy blunt object possibly a nearby bedside lamp and his throat had been tied with a cord, which was attached to a piece of clothing, and which may have contributed to him being strangled.

Beside Terry's body was a handwritten note which referred to Terry as a "Batty man," the Jamaican slang for homosexual and a warning, "This is what will happen to ALL gays." The note was signed "Batty man."
The Associated Press reported that the Jamaican Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding Terry's death as a homophobic attack.

Investigators have confirmed that there was no sign of forced entry at the four-bedroom house and do not believe that robbery was a motive for the murder.

A St. James investigating officer said that it was likely that Terry knew his killer, but he said the police has not revealed any possible motives or have made any arrests.
In a related story, despite having most of his shows cancelled around the U.S. due to protests and complaints against his homophobic lyrics which incite anti-gay violence, Rival Entertainment has booked Jamaica reggae dancehall artiste Buju Banton, to perform at Center Stage in Atlanta on Oct 24.
"There are no new developments up to this time, but we believe, however, that the person who murdered Mr. Terry was close to him," Garrick told the Jamaican newspapers The Gleaner.

Reports also state that Terry had been separated for several years from his wife, who lives with their two children in Kingston, the country's capital. But people who knew Terry also suggest that he was part of a group of rich older white men on the island who liked to have young Black boyfriends. Others who knew Terry said that the night before his demise he was seen in the company of another man leaving the Half Moon luxury hotel and resort. Terry worked as the maintenance supervisor with the hotel.

Nearby residents said that a young man was seen leaving Terry's house Tuesday night and had asked where he could obtain transportation to go to downtown Montego Bay.

Originally from New Zealand, Terry had been living in Jamaica since 1967 and was honorary consul for 13 years, with responsibility for the western part of the island. In 1992 Queen Elizabeth II conferred on him the honor of a Member of the British Empire for his services to tourism.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband commenting on Terry's death said, "I, and all his colleagues, were deeply saddened to hear of the death of John Terry, the British honorary consul in Montego Bay in Jamaica. John Terry was a key member of our team in Jamaica and had been an honorary consul for 13 years, but with many years of other service to the British community in Jamaica before then.

"Honorary consuls like John play a valuable role in our work overseas and this was especially true of John, who helped many, many British visitors to Jamaica over the years. My thoughts are with his wife and children. He will be greatly missed too by colleagues and all those who knew him."

In former British colonies, as Jamaica, with a Governor General as the constitutional representative of the Queen, honorary consuls are volunteers who are paid small honorariums, usually about £2,000 per year, to assist with representing British nationals in difficulty, acting as a UK link with local industry, and representing embassies and high commissions at parties and public functions.

In 2008, there were more then 1,600 killings in Jamaica, a country classified by the U.S. State Department as the most homophobic country and the highest murder rate per capita in the world.