A man has been arrested on suspicion of brutally slashing to death a popular Preston grandad.
Errol Bennett, 59, from Ribbleton, Preston, was brutally murdered during a repeated machete attack at his luxury villa in Portland, Jamaica.
His friend, 27-year-old Kerry-Ann Thompson, was also attacked but survived and has been left with serious facial injuries.
Mr Bennett’s nephew Josephas Bennett, also known as Clifton, was named by police as the chief suspect and posters were circulated. Now, more than eight months after the attack, police have arrested him in Kingston, Jamaica.
The family said the arrest had been made after senior British police officers visited the last week.
A spokesman for the family said: “The head of the homicide case team at the Metropolitcan Police came to visit last week and somebody from Missing Abroad. I don’t know whether they have made the difference, they were enquiring about it.
“Now it is a case of waiting for him to be interviewed.” But the apparent breakthrough in the case has not brought any relief to the family. The spokesman added: “I cannot feel any relief, it has been a long eight months for something which should have been straight forward.”
Mr Bennett was born in Jamaica but moved over to Preston at the age of 15 and worked in the city for more than 35 years. During his retirement he split his time between Preston and a villa in Jamaica. Hundreds packed into Deepdale Methodist Church for his funeral in January.