A 41-year-old American businessman is currently on trial in Jamaica for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill his wife to collect a massive life insurance payout.
According to Atlanta Black Star, Omar Collymore was set to receive a $77 million insurance payout in the event of the death of his wife, Simone Campbell-Collymore.
He found himself at the center of a criminal investigation after a spray of bullets killed his wife and her taxi driver in St. Andrew, Jamaica, in 2018.
American Businessman Accused of Hiring Hitman to Kill His Wife For Life Insurance Payout
Omar Collymore, a US citizen born in Barbados, testified in court last week that he tried to flee Jamaica on the day of his wife's funeral due to safety concerns after someone tried to kill him.
After he was shot at while in a car insurance company in Kingston shortly after his wife was killed, the businessman said US Embassy officials advised him to leave the island and even escorted him to the airport.
Before the airplane took off, Collymore said he was taken out from the flight and was questioned about the shooting incident involving his wife and taxi driver Winston Walters.
After being released by the police, he said he stayed at a guest house to lie low. He said he picked that place for sentimental reasons related to his late wife.
Collymore admitted to a three-year extramarital affair amid the strain of their marriage and invested $3 million in his lover's company against his wife's financial warnings.
His lover denied receiving financial benefits from the businessman but acknowledged other support, such as rent payments and international trips, including to his marital home in Florida.
Massive Insurance Payout to the American Businessman After His Wife Was Killed
Text messages from the trial showed the couple had considered reconciliation but his wife eventually chose separation and even willing to sign over luxury vehicles just to cut all ties with him. Omar Collymore faced financial difficulties before his wife's death. She even sought Simone Campbell-Collymore's assistance before her death.
Wade Blackwood, a member of the Unruly Gang, was convicted in 2021 after pleading guilty to two counts of murder and illegal possession of a firearm, receiving a life sentence with the possibility of parole in 20 years.
Despite the businessman's earning millions in the event of his wife's death, suspicions were raised when he sought two additional policies with a $10 million critical illness arrangement for his wife, who already had one, according to his wife's former insurance agent who told this to the court last month.
The businessman's co-defendant, Michael Crayboss Adams, is accused of also carrying out the hit, according to the Atlanta Black Star. Blackwood previously testified that Adams was the contract killer and the one who spoke with the man who had ordered the hit on the woman.
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