Court of Appeal Denies Bail for Former PNP MP Jolyan Silvera in Wife’s Murder Case

Former People’s National Party (PNP) Member of Parliament Jolyan Silvera will remain in custody after the Court of Appeal upheld an earlier decision to deny him bail in connection with the murder of his wife, Mellissa Silvera.

The 52-year-old, who has been in custody since January 2024, appeared before the Court of Appeal on Tuesday. However, the court refused to overturn the Supreme Court’s prior ruling, citing the gravity of the charges and the strength of the prosecution’s case.

Justice Vivene Harris, who presided over the appeal, stated there was no compelling reason to interfere with the Supreme Court’s decision. The court placed significant weight on the alleged use of a firearm in the crime and the evidence presented by the Crown.

Silvera’s legal team, led by King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie and attorney Patrice Riley, submitted an independent ballistic report in support of the bail application. However, Justice Harris dismissed the report’s significance, describing it as “just an opinion” that did not outweigh the Crown’s forensic evidence.

According to police reports, 42-year-old Mellissa Silvera was found dead at the couple’s home in Stony Hill, St Andrew, on November 10, 2023. Initial assumptions suggested a natural death, but a post-mortem examination conducted weeks later revealed she had been shot multiple times. Investigators reportedly recovered three bullet fragments from her body.

Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Dwayne Green, representing the Crown, maintains that the evidence strongly implicates Silvera in his wife’s killing.

The case is scheduled for a trial readiness hearing on September 25, 2025, with the trial set to begin on January 12, 2026.