Glenn Jackson, the initial press secretary of St. Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, was murdered on Monday, March 6, 2006, which was 18 years ago.
While in Malaysia during Jackson’s death, Gonsalves reached out to a local radio station, WEFM, and praised the press secretary as exceptionally skilled and questioned who would want to kill him.
“Who would desire to assassinate Glenn?” The Prime Minister stated.
Jackson’s dead body was found in his car, parked a short distance from his residence in the affluent neighbourhood of Cane Garden, just a few minutes away from the island’s capital, Kingstown.
Upon the announcement of his passing, the nation entered a period of grief for a man who made significant contributions not only to politics but to almost every facet of society.
Glenn demonstrated his skills as a proficient radio broadcaster and a community-oriented individual by initiatives such as organising a Christmas carolling contest, leading a march to advocate for lower costs at Cable and Wireless, and taking the lead on issues related to bananas.
At the time of her husband’s murder, Susan Jackson, his widow, expressed confidence that the perpetrator(s) would be caught. Unfortunately, her hope has not been fulfilled.
The investigation was officially closed by island authorities after the man accused, Francis Williams, a 25-year-old resident of Sion Hill at the time, was acquitted of Jackson’s murder due to mistakes made by detectives.
High Court Judge Frederick Bruce-Lyle, who has since passed away, condemned the investigators’ work as “terrible” during his case.
In a Wikileaks cable dated March 2006, a U.S. diplomat in Bridgetown informed Washington that ending the Glenn Jackson murder trial early would likely increase dissatisfaction among Vincentians with the country’s police force and criminal justice system.
The letter also mentioned that in St. Vincent, attention is increased due to Ralph Gonsalves’ role as a persistent adversary to Washington and close ally of Cuba and Venezuela.
Diplomats were particularly fortunate to have among its contacts Glenn Jackson who could provide valuable insight on the PM and his small island-state.
Glenn Jackson’s cause of death, as reported by the St. Vincent Police Department, was a single gunshot wound.
