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[cha_lissvi]

Arrest made last night at 9:30 pm

Details????

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Man arrested in St. John stabbing death
By JOSEPH TSIDULKO
Saturday, August 4th 2007

An 18-year-old St. John man was arrested late Friday and charged with stabbing to death Jamie Cockayne, a 21-year-old tourist killed after leaving a Cruz Bay bar in June.

Kamal "Six Pack" Thomas of Gifft Hill was taken into custody at 9:30 p.m. on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree assault and using a dangerous weapon during the commission of a crime of violence.

Thomas is being detained without the option of posting bail. He will face a V.I. Superior Court judge on Monday.

The Cockayne murder case has brought a frenzy of media attention from the U.S. mainland onto the territory and St. John - an island that has seen only three murders since 2000 - in particular.

After a month without an arrest in their son's violent slaying in the early morning hours of June 19, Cockayne's parents became increasingly vocal, engaging in a media campaign to publicize the case. They claimed police shut them out of the investigation and did not appear to be following all leads aggressively.

Several unfavorable news reports on television affiliates in Pennsylvania and Florida, and in newspapers and blogs, questioned the safety of tourists visiting St. John and the competence of the V.I. Police Department.

On Tuesday, Police Commissioner James McCall promised an arrest in an interview with The Daily News.

Later that day, Bill and Jeanie Cockayne, the slain man's parents, and their lawyer, Sean Summers, appeared on Fox News Channel's "On The Record With Greta Van Susteren."

On national television, the family invoked memories of Natalee Holloway, the 18-year-old Alabama girl who drew headlines after she disappeared in May 2005 during a graduation trip to Aruba. The Holloway case was a severe blow to that island's tourism industry.

The Cockaynes told Van Susteren that even if an arrest comes, they have no faith there will be a successful prosecution because they have heard police blunders might have compromised evidence. They said they would like to see federal authorities take over the case.

Jamie Cockayne planned on going to work as a sailing instructor at the Bitter End Yacht Club on Virgin Gorda.

The night he was killed just up the street from the Jurgen Command police station, Cockayne was still on St. John waiting for his employment papers to be approved by the British Virgin Islands government. The night of the murder, Cockayne's mother was also on St. John; the family planned to buy a retirement home on the island.

The family hired a private detective after they became frustrated with what they perceived to be a lack of interest or effort by the Police Department.

Summers said that, based on information obtained by the private investigators, police should have had enough evidence about the fatal stabbing to amount to probable cause for an arrest.

Through the private investigation, the family learned that the 21-year-old Pennsylvania native was drunk when he got into an argument with two men at Front Yard Bar, next door to the St. John police station, Summers said.

After the argument, the two men followed Cockayne out of the bar and up the hill, Summers said.

Just before 12:30 a.m., the killers hit Cockayne over the head with a two-by-four, then stabbed him seven times. He was dead by the time police arrived.

No other arrests in the case had been made by presstime early Saturday morning.

http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/i ... d=17612915

[cha_lissvi]

an update on the arrest....

Bond Set For Cockayne Murder Suspect

http://www.onepaper.com/stthomasvi/?v=d ... 1176614057

Aug. 6, 2007 -- A hearing sometime over the next three days will determine whether 18-year-old Kamal "Six Pack" Thomas, charged with the widely publicized killing of St. John resident James "Jamie" Cockayne, will be detained without bail pending an upcoming trial.
Cockayne, who had recently moved to St. John, was stabbed to death some time after midnight on June 19 in downtown Cruz Bay. According to police reports, Cockayne was transported by ambulance to the Myrah Keating Smith Community Health Center, where he was pronounced dead at 1:10 a.m

During an advice-of-rights hearing held in V.I. Superior Court Monday, prosecuting attorney Renee Gumbs Carty said she had recently filed a motion requesting a detention hearing for Thomas. Since the defense had not yet reviewed the document, Superior Court Judge Leon H. Kendall said that a pre-trial detention hearing -- which will determine whether the motion will be granted -- would be scheduled within the next three days.
In the meantime, Thomas will be held at the Golden Grove Correctional Facility on St. Croix on first-degree murder and assault charges, along with the charge of using a dangerous weapon during the commission of a crime of violence.
Police picked up Thomas, a native of Atlanta, Ga., and resident of Gifft Hill, on Friday after a warrant for his arrest was issued by Superior Court Judge Brenda J. Hollar.
Kendall also found probable cause to hold Thomas on another charge -- allegedly intimidating or retaliating against the witness who reported the murder to the police. In this instance, Kendall found Thomas to be a flight risk, with no substantial ties to the community.
Thomas will be held on a $25,000 surety bond, Kendall said. "This means that someone has to post a piece of property that is two times the value of the bond -- or $50,000 -- in order for you to be released," the judge explained to Thomas.
During Monday's hearing, Thomas remained subdued -- generally keeping his head bowed and eyes lowered -- as Kendall advised him of his rights. At some points, he shook his head or moved his shoulders erratically. Under questioning from the judge, Thomas also kept his hands behind his back, often playing with a small section of his shirt.
Thomas rarely looked at Kendall when answering questions, and kept his voice low. Unlike others in the courtroom, Thomas' red Bureau of Corrections uniform was disheveled, and his hair -- approximately two or three inches long -- stuck out from his head.
Thomas' arraignment on the charge of intimidating a witness is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 16.