One of three men apprehended by the police in an Agricola house following the murder of Melissa Payne on Wednesday was remanded to prison yesterday when he appeared in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court, charged with the capital offence.

Melissa Payne

Twenty-one-year-old Jermaine Savory, known as `Jaja’, of 97 Second Street, Agricola was not required to plead to the indictable charge of murder when it was read to him.

It is alleged that on Wednesday at Agricola, Payne of Lot 56 Den Amstel, West Coast Demerara and her reputed husband John Fraser also known as David Fraser were proceeding to Georgetown when they were forced to stop shortly after 8 am after the Canter they were in encountered a mechanical problem.
Fraser, a contractor, while attempting to fix the problem, was approached by gunmen who were standing in an old shop across the road and was menaced.

One of the men went directly to Fraser while another went to the woman and the third acted as a lookout. Fraser managed to run into oncoming traffic but Payne was unlucky as a gun had already been pressed against her side and she was commanded to hand over the handbag she was clutching. Payne reportedly refused to hand it over and attempted to escape but was shot in the process while the men fled through a nearby alleyway with the bag which contained more than $100,000 and the two gold chains she was wearing.

Jermaine Savory

She sustained a single gunshot wound under her right armpit and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Hospital. Fraser escaped unhurt.

The police arrived shortly after the shooting and armed ranks went into Agricola to look for suspects.
Three men were  pursued into a house and later arrested.

In court yesterday Savory was observed with several stitches on his forehead. An earlier police report had stated that he got them in his attempt to flee the area.

The magistrate subsequently ordered that Savory be remanded to prison and transferred the case to Court Three for December 5.