SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — The St Elizabeth police say they are making solid progress in their probe of what they are describing as the "cold-blooded and premeditated" murder of a 17-year-old girl in Junction, South East St Elizabeth, on Monday night.

"We are following strong leads and we expect to make an early breakthrough," Superintendent Maurice Robinson, head of the St Elizabeth police said.

Family members named the victim as Rochelle-Renee Chin, who graduated last month from the Manchester High School.

"We (police) can definitely say that robbery was not the motive," Robinson said. He pledged that "whoever was responsible for this most brutal and vicious act will feel the full force of the law".

Yellow police caution tape remained stretched across the crime scene. The spot where the teenager died — at the edge of a tomato garden just 10 meters from the verandah of her home — was still marked by her blood. Residents and family members pointed to a large clump of tall Guinea grass where it is believed her killer lurked before striking, as Rochelle returned home from a neighbor's house at about 9:35 pm.

Rochelle's grieving mother, Patricia Neil, said that she was at home when she heard her daughter "scream out" and then "the gun shots". She ran out of her house to find her daughter lying "in the grass with blood all over her head".

Yesterday Neil, comforted by family and friends, spoke of her daughter — the fourth of seven children — as a "jovial, well- mannered, loving person".

Others on the verandah spoke of her as "always smiling, playful and intelligent".

Councillor for the Junction Division, Cetany Holness (Jamaica Labour Party) expressed hope that there will be a "thorough investigation by the police and that the killer will be brought to justice as quickly as possible".