The family of a Wembley man who went missing last summer say they believe he was murdered and they know who killed him, but police are dragging their feet.
Businessman Cedric Mitchell disappeared in July 2023, two weeks after arriving in Jamaica, where he was a landlord.
His sister Maxine, fed up with Jamaican police’s apparent inaction, has gone to the island to mount her own investigation, aided by a private detective.
“Something has happened to Cedric,” she sobbed during a video call with the Brent and Kilburn Times.
She claimed police botched Cedric’s missing person report and then made excuses for not searching for his body, asking his family to search woodland for his remains instead.
“I’ve been here on the ground and it’s been so distressing,” she said. “I don’t even know what I’ve developed, but I’ve developed some sort of illness – anger, depression.
“I feel let down by the police and the embassy. I feel like I’m in a big sea, by myself, struggling – and I can’t swim and my head is just a little bit above water and I’m getting hypothermia.”
“She’s been over there so long now,” said family friend Fiona Fearon, who first contacted the Times. “She’s a mother and a grandmother. It’s not easy for her. It’s not like she’s on holiday.”
Maxine says that since arriving in Jamaica, she has personally been threatened – in front of police officers – by the same man she believes murdered her brother.
She alleges police did nothing about it.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force did not respond to our requests for comment.
Born and raised in Wembley, Cedric studied architecture and later became a property developer in Jamaica (Image: Mitchell family)
Cedric
The youngest of his mother’s eight children, Cedric was born in England in 1968.
He grew up in Wembley, attending Preston Manor School.
A gifted artist, he studied architecture at university. But he was also a born entrepreneur, so began working for himself after he graduated.
For a while, he designed, printed and sold his own T-shirts. Then he drove trucks.
Cedric had six children – three in England and three in Jamaica – and bought his first home in 2000.
Shortly before his disappearance, he had flown to the USA to visit his childhood sweetheart, who he had reconnected with via Facebook.
He had then flown from the USA to Jamaica.
He was 54 at that time. His family don’t believe he ever turned 55.
Business
It when Cedric started spending time in Jamaica that he put his architectural background to use, building and renting properties in St Elizabeth Parish, around 50 miles from Montego Bay.
“He employed people in St Elizabeth for five or six years,” said Maxine.
In the months before his death, he travelled from England to America to Jamaica.
He wasn’t very tech-savvy, said Maxine, so she had booked his flights.
Cedric built and rented property, like this house, in St Elizabeth in Jamaica (Image: Mitchell family)
They were in more regular contact than usual, as Maxine was preparing to invest £6,000 in Cedric’s latest business – a Montego Bay tour bus company.
He reached the island on July 16, 2023.
Jamaican border control has found no record of him ever leaving.
Disappearance
Maxine video called Cedric on July 17, while on holiday in Spain.
“I told him that everyone says hi,” she recalled. “He gave me a thumbs up and said, ‘Contact me when you get back from your holiday’.”
They had another video call on July 26. In the following days, Maxine sent Cedric £6,000 via Western Union – but he never collected it.
After weeks without communication, she realised his WhatsApp account said he hadn’t been online since July 29.
“I know my brother,” she said. “He was always on his WhatsApp.”
“This was out of character,” agreed Fiona. “Then his birthday was coming up and events were coming up and still, nothing.”
Friends and family described Cedric Mitchell as a talented artist and a born entrepreneur. In Wembley, he once ran his own T-shirt printing business. In Jamaica, he built houses (Image: Mitchell family)
Police Investigation
Cedric’s best friend Dwile Ricketts reported him missing to Jamaican police after speaking to Maxine.
Both expressed frustration to the Times about the police investigation.
“I had to go really wild to get just one police report,” said Maxine.
When it was finally handed it over, she said, it was wrong. It said Cedric had last been seen on July 25, 2023, but Maxine knew Cedric had called her on July 26.
It claimed searches had been conducted, including in adjoining districts – but she disputed that.
“They only done one search that was just above ground,” she said. “They didn’t go deep into the forest that’s in front of his house.
“They weren’t searching. They were just flashing their sticks, talking about their own private lives, laughing and joking. The search was not done.”
Police asked her and her sister to search the woods for her brother’s remains instead, she alleged.
“They said they weren’t going in because it’s too dense,” she claimed. “They only brought one dog and then said it was too tired from the heat of the sun.”
'Nothing Suspicious'
Police wrote that when they searched Cedric’s home, “nothing suspicious was observed”. The family disagreed.
“Every single one of Cedric’s documents is missing,” said Maxine. “His passport, driving licence, car documents. Every single pair of his shoes was missing, but his clothes were still there.”
Cedric was carrying $10,000 USD when he arrived in Jamaica, Maxine claimed, which has never been found. Nor has his computer tablet.
Cedric Mitchell was last seen alive and last accessed his WhatsApp account on July 29, 2023. His family believe he was murdered by a man who had been threatening him over a business dispute (Image: Mitchell family)
His family allege no forensic testing was done.
“They told us they didn’t have the equipment and they were going to apply for it,” said Maxine. “But nothing has come to fruition.”
Cedric’s disappearance was featured once on local television news and the police put an appeal on Facebook, but little else seems to be going on, she added.
To her knowledge, police have never checked Cedric’s last phone location.
He has now been missing so long that his number has been reassigned to somebody else, so he has started showing on her phone as being online.
“Tedious”
Maxine claims a senior officer told her “my family has become tedious in this investigation because we keep asking questions”.
Fed up with police’s apparent inaction, she began investigating for herself.
“The police are lackadaisical,” she said. “They are holding back information. They are lazy with this case. They are not interested.”
She has a similar opinion of the UK government.
“The British embassy in Jamaica is not helping. It’s just blasé,” she said.
“Nothing has happened. The embassy called in May to ask me if anything was happening.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office would not comment, other than to say: “We are supporting the family of a British man who was reported missing in Jamaica and are in touch with the local authorities.”
Maxine Mitchell described the Jamaican police's investigation into her brother's death as 'lazy' and 'lackadaisical'. The Jamaica Constabulary Force did not respond to our requests for comment (Image: Maxine Mitchell)
New Witness
Maxine says police are aware of rumours in Port Elizabeth about Cedric's death, even claiming they told her “We know your brother is gone.”
But, she said, there seems to be no desire to prove them or find his body.
It was Maxine – not the police – who tracked down a friend who met Cedric on July 29, 2023, four days after the police report said he went missing.
“He told me him and Cedric were together on July 29, early in the morning, around six to eight o’clock,” she said.
“Cedric drove with him to the shops and drove back with him. His house is on the same lane as my brother’s. He said that was the last time he saw Cedric.”
Their mother is “in devastation”, said Maxine.
“She is pretending that he is still okay but she has become very reclusive and not really doing anything, and that’s affecting her health.”
But Maxine and other loved ones have little doubt Cedric has been murdered.
“They think they can get away with it,” said her friend Fiona. “It’s been a year and, in a sense, they have.”
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