ODPP says 10 y/o son discovered Melissa Silvera’s body

The body of Melissa Silvera, the wife of former politician Jolyan Silvera, was reportedly found in their bedroom by the couple’s 10 year old son.

This was highlighted by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in a statement which outlined the reasons for acceptance of Mr. Silvera’s guilty plea for manslaughter.

Mr. Silvera was initially facing a murder charge, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter and cited provocation by his wife as among the reasons he shot her.

According to the statement, Mrs. Silvera was killed during an argument at the family home in St Andrew in November 2023.

The DPP noted that on November 10 at about 10:30 P.M., Mr. Silvera told his wife and children that he was leaving to attend a meeting and that he would return the following day.

Based on a statement from the children, Mrs. Silvera told her husband that he could not leave and an argument ensued, with the adults swearing at each other before Mr. Silvera left the house.

The following day, at about 6:00 A.M., the 10 year old son went into his parents’ bedroom and discovered his mother’s body on the floor next to the bed.

The DPP explained that the child noticed that there was blood coming from his mother’s body and that her dress was covered with blood.

The boy reportedly ran from the bedroom and alerted his brother, who accompanied him back to the bedroom where they both checked for signs of life.

The children then contacted their father.

Mr. Silvera indicated in a witness statement that after speaking with his son, he called the Stony Hill Police Station while on his way home.

Based on statements from the children, upon arrival at the house Mr. Silvera went into the bedroom and saw his wife in a sitting position with her head leaning forward at the side of the bed.

It is further reported that Mr. Silvera touched his wife, spoke to her and found that she was not responding.

The DPP explained that a police officer later arrived, went to the bedroom and took a photograph of the body.

It is reported that Mr. Silvera cried out and then covered sections of his wife’s body.

The police officer did not conduct any further examination of the body because Mr. Silvera was crying.

Upon indication that Mrs. Silvera had no known medical condition, the cop stated that a post-mortem examination would be conducted to determine the cause of death.

The officer reportedly contacted the funeral home for removal of the body, then left the house.

The morgue attendant later arrived at the house and the body was removed and taken to the morgue.

The DPP explained that on December 1, 2023, the pathologist discovered scars on Mrs. Silvera’s body.

During the post mortem on December 15, the pathologist noted that there were three gunshot wounds, one on the right thigh, another on the left lower abdomen and the third on the right lower abdomen.

The pathologist reportedly removed two projectiles from Mrs. Silvera’s body which were handed over to the police.

The immediate cause of death was determined to be multiple gunshot wounds.

The DPP further outlined that the police returned to the Silvera’s home on December 16, 2023.

The cops noticed that the bedroom had been renovated with tiled floor, sprayed over furniture, a new mattress on the bed and painted walls.

The children’s room was also tiled.

Mr. Silvera indicated that no one told him that he could not make changes to the room.

The DPP stated that Mr. Silvera’s iPhone and licensed firearms were taken by the police for examination and testing.

The projectiles removed from Mrs. Silvera’s body were compared to test fires taken from Mr. Silvera’s gun by the ballistics expert in 2024.

Upon observation of matching, the expert contacted the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) and requested the 2013 test fires from Mr. Silvera’s Glock pistol for comparison.

These matched the projectiles removed from Mrs. Silvera’s body, meaning they were fired from Mr. Silvera’s Glock pistol.