Slain teacher was getting ready to migrate

The awards displayed in Roshane Beckford's home tell the story of a teacher who dedicated more than a decade to shaping young lives. But those achievements now offered little comfort to grieving relatives who are trying to make sense of the brutal killing of the 35-year-old educator and father of three.

Just hours after returning home from Ascot High School where he spent the day mentoring students and preparing them for success, physical education teacher Beckford, otherwise known as 'Pancho', was lured from his family home and shot dead. 

According to police reports, about 3:15 p.m. on Friday, Beckford received a telephone call indicating that a family member was ill and needed assistance. He reportedly went to an address on March Pen Road, where he was pounced upon by unknown men and shot multiple times.

The police were summoned and Beckford was transported to the Spanish Town Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators have not yet established a motive for the killing. The Spanish Town Criminal Investigation Branch is probing the incident.

When THE STAR visited the family's home on Sunday, Beckford's grandmother, Naomi Prince, grandfather Stanley Prince, sister Sachell Beckford and other relatives were overcome with grief.

Speaking through tears, Sachell said Beckford had been preparing to migrate to the United States.

"Pancho is on filing to go to America. Him nuh deserve this," Sachell said.

She recalled that her brother had returned home from school on Friday afternoon, shortly before receiving the phone call.

“Somebody call him on his phone. I don’t know what the exact conversation on the phone was," she said.

She recalled that their mother, a fish vendor in Spanish Town, had made arrangements for dinner to be prepared that evening.

"Our mother brought fish. She sells at the market in the town. She got some fish and she told me that I should cook so that Pancho can get dinner," she said.

Before he could sit down to eat, however, Beckford received a call and hurriedly left the house.

"He came here and he got a call. I don’t know who call him. I don’t know what was the conversation. He was in a rush when he left out here," she said.

She said the family is struggling to comprehend the cruelty of his death.

"It is just hard how dem take mi bredda life. Mi heart a bleed. It a tear out a mi chest. A mi only brother mi have. Him nuh deserve this, him nuh deserve this," she said.

Beckford leaves behind three children.

"He has three children. I don’t know what I’m going to tell them," Sachell said.

Family members described him as a reserved individual whose focus remained firmly on his work, loved ones and sports.

As a physical education teacher at Ascot High School, Beckford earned numerous awards throughout his career. His family proudly displayed recognitions he had received, including awards for 12 years of outstanding service and significant impact, Physical Education Teacher of the Year, and his contribution to developing functional citizens through passion and hard work.

According to relatives, sports and education were his greatest passions. A graduate of G.C. Foster College, he used his training not only to coach students but also to help them succeed academically.

"Him help the pickney dem study fi dem exam. Right now exam a come up and mi nuh know how dem ago manage," Sachell said.

His grandmother, Naomi Prince, was also overcome with grief.

"Coming like mi nuh in a dis yah world because mi caah believe mi grandson dead," she said. "He was doing so well, [a] very ambitious young man".

Struggling to understand why anyone would want to take his life, Prince said only God knows the hearts of those responsible.