One man has been taken into custody on “reasonable suspicion of murder” after a Delaware native was shot and killed in Jamaica on Saturday, police from the island nation said.
“The suspect’s identity cannot be released at this time,” said Cpl. S. Mullings with the Jamaica Constabulary Force, adding that more updates would be provided as they become available.
Timothy Harper, 43, was picking up his wife from work when a man approached his vehicle and opened fire, according to the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Timothy Harper, who is originally from Smyrna and went to Caravel Academy, was picking up his wife from work about 9:05 p.m. when a man approached his vehicle and opened fire, police said on Monday.
Harper, 43, suffered several gunshot wounds to the chest and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead, the Jamaica Constabulary Force said.
Close friend Frank Am said Harper moved to Jamaica to be with his young daughters Alex and Charlotte. Both Harper’s wife, Tressan, and his ex-wife, Jenne, live in Jamaica, another friend, Andrew Johnson said.
“His kids were his lifeline,” Am said. “He loved those kids so much. They lived with him in Jamaica.”
Frank Am with his friend Tim Harper’s daughters.
Frank Am with his friend Tim Harper’s daughters. (Photo11: Courtesy of Frank Am)
Harper was an information technology consultant, police said. He was living in Westmoreland, the westernmost parish of Jamaica, part time and was killed in the resort town of Negril.
Am said Harper hired him at his first job in Maryland and they became best friends. They worked together at Sourcefire, a Columbia, Maryland, cybersecurity company later acquired by Cisco.
Harper’s LinkedIn profile said he went to the University of Delaware, and after working at Cisco worked as a technical lead for Tata Consultancy Services, which provides a range of cybersecurity and technical services throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as other countries.
The LinkedIn profile said Harper also worked at Majestic Consulting Group in New Jersey from 2002 to 2003.
He graduated from Caravel Academy in 1993 and was in the National Honor Society, according to The News Journal’s archives.
Timothy Harper was shot and killed in Jamaica on Saturday, police there confirmed.
“Tim was a genuine friend who always put his family and friends above his needs,” Am said. “He was the type of person that can adjust and adapt to his environment and everyone. He was a good leader and motivated me in every business activity we worked on. He was full of life, and he lived his life to the fullest. I loved him and will surely miss him.”
Johnson, one of Harper’s friends from Delaware who has since moved to California, said Harper had dual citizenship in the U.S. and Jamaica.
Johnson is encouraging family and friends to call the U.S. Embassy in Kingston to demand answers and seek justice for Harper.
“I am trying to help get to the bottom of who killed him and why,” he said. “I care too much to allow his death to get pushed aside.”
In 2017, the Embassy in Kingston received reports from Jamaican police or the victims themselves of six U.S. citizens murdered; 20 U.S. citizens robbed; 12 U.S. citizens raped/sexually assaulted; six U.S. victims of aggravated assaults; four incidents of domestic violence involving Americans; four instances of child abuse involving American children; and one actual missing persons case, according to a 2018 report.
Those numbers are not all-inclusive, as many crimes are often not brought to the attention of the embassy or to the police. Many murders have been attributed to gangs and drug and gun trafficking.
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It will be very interesting to see how this case develops.
Oh this murder happened in Negril. Where did the wife work.? Was he probably picking up the wife or the ex wife?
RIGHT NOW I HAVE BEEN STALK TERRORIZE AND DEMONIC VOICES AND ABUSES AND SICKNESS GOING ON AFTER I GOT RID OF ONE TERRORIST PIMP WHO LOOK FOR WHITE DOLLARS IN NEGRIL. HE COULD NOT USE ME THAT WAY AND HE HAS A DADDY. AND DONT WNAT TO MENTION HERE WHO IT MIGHT BE. HE HATES ON WOMEN HE USES FOR MONEY AND COUD NOT GET A DOLAR OUT OF ME, I WAS NOT NO PIIIMP. AND GOT DUMB CANADIAOIN WOMAN TO PLAY THE ROLL. AND SHE MIGHT BE THE KIND TO LIKE HIM TEL HER HOW BAD I WAS TO HIM AND EVIL AND ITS HIM WHO WAS EVIL AND SHE EAT IT UP AND SHE HAS TO CLEAN UP THE BLOOD IN BATHEROOM IN THE MURDER HIS INTENT TO KILL ME WITH IT. AND FEEL HES SO WONDERFUL. LIKE THE GUY WHO KILIED HIS FIANCE, WITHT A BAT AND TOLD THE GIRL TO CLEAN UP THE MESS. THT KNI DOF WOMAN. I LEFT IT AND NOT LOOK BACK. ALOT OF THEM WOMEN OUT THERE WHO BELEIVE SOME ASSHOLE AND ARE DESPARTE. THEY DID A TRAGIC NUMBER ON ME. AND INVIED A MAN INTO IT. I WAS NOT TO FALL FOR A GAME FOR A BIG SHOT DJ TO SUCK ME IN AND TOSS ME AROUND AND THEN TRY TO FUCK ME UP FOR THIS PERSON AND GET HIM TO HATE ON ME. AND IT HAPPEN IN A EVIL MANNER. I DON TKNOW WHO KILLED THAT GUY HE LOOKS FAMILIAR . BUT THE LIKES OF HTE ASSHOLE WHO I LEFT IN NEGRIL IS A KIND OF PERSON WHO HAS NO LIVE. AND INFLUENCES MINDS OF HAT KIND OF PERSON TO DO SHIT, AND PLAYS THE OTHER SIDE OF COIN TOO.. WHAT WAS DONE TO ME WAS INTENTIOANL WEATHER THE PERSON WHO WAS USED TO TIRGGER T HE GAME ON ME KNEW OR WAS INFLUENCE. THE PERSON I WAS WITH IS A SCIENTIST AND TROUGBLE TROUBLE MAKER AND HATES DEEPLY FOR ON ORESON ON PEOPLE AND IS ALOOSE CANNON AND SOMEONE ELSE IS HELPING HIM. THE VIBE IN NEGRIL IS LIKE WANGTER SCAMMER GANGSTER WHITE TOURIST DOLLAR BLOOD AND MUSIC. SO IM NOT SUPRISE.. PEOPLE ARE LIKE OUT OF CONTROL ON THE MADNESS.