Reggae star Vybz Kartel convicted of murder

Popular Jamaican musician Vybz Kartel was convicted along with three other men in the murder of an associate in Kingston, officials said. Kartel, a dancehall and reggae star whose real name is Adidja Palmer, was convicted in Home Circuit Court Thursday alongside Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St. John in the August 2011 killing of associate Clive "Lizard" Williams, Jamaican newspaper the Gleaner reported. The court heard the defendants lured Williams to Kartel's home and beat him to death in a dispute about two missing guns. No body was ever found, but police obtained a text message from Kartel's phone saying Williams had been chopped up into "mincemeat" and would never be found, the BBC reported. A fifth defendant in the case Shane Williams, was cleared of charges and set free. Kartel, Campbell, Jones and St. John are scheduled to be sentenced March 27. Their lawyers have indicated they plan to appeal the convictions.