MONTEGO BAY, St James (SHOCKING) — The ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) yesterday reacted with shock at the passing of its former caretaker for Westmoreland Central, Faye Reid-Jacobs, who allegedly committed suicide

BY MARK CUMMINGS Editor-at-Large Western Bureau cummingsm@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, May 10, 2016

MONTEGO BAY, St James — The ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) yesterday reacted with shock at the passing of its former caretaker for Westmoreland Central, Faye Reid-Jacobs, who allegedly committed suicide at her Long Mountain home in St Andrew, on Sunday night.

Faye Reid-Jacobs

“The party is shocked at her death. This is totally unexpected,” said JLP General Secretary Dr Horace Chang, in a release yesterday.

“She was an important member of the party; committed to the principles and vision of the party. We are all in shock and mourning at this time,” Dr Chang added, noting that even after Reid-Jacobs resigned as caretaker for the Westmoreland Central constituency last year, she remained “close to the party”.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Corporate Communications Unit reported that Reid-Jacobs allegedly ingested a chemical substance at her Long Mountain residence at about 6:30 pm on Sunday. She was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead about two hours later, the police say.

Yesterday, JLP caretaker for Westmoreland Central George Wright, who succeeded Reid-Jacobs as the party’s standard-bearer in the constituency, also expressed surprise and shock at her passing, saying “it will be a great loss to many in the constituency”.

“She (Reid-Jacobs) was very friendly; she dedicated a lot of time and resources to the party and constituency and wanted to see a change for the people of Westmoreland,” Wright told the

Jamaica Observer.

Wright, who lost in his bid to represent the constituency in the February 25 General Election, when he was defeated by the People’s National Party’s (PNP’s) Dwayne Vaz, told theObserver that Reid-Jacobs played a very important role in his election campaign.

“In fact, she was with me campaigning every day, from nomination day right up to the end on election day. She will be sadly missed,” Wright said, adding that he last spoke with Reid-Jacobs about a week ago when she was in Westmoreland, visiting her ailing mother in hospital.

Businessman and former president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Davon Crump said he, too, spoke with Reid-Jacobs recently, and that she was in high spirits. more