The couple met in the early 1960s in Kingston, Jamaica, where they were both born and raised. They moved in together, but it soon came to light that Drummond was physically and verbally abusive towards Mahfood, and had a very short fuse even in the most mundane of interactions. There were several incidents in which he attacked her in front of friends and bandmates.

Unfortunately, these instances of domestic violence escalated until Mahfood eventually lost her life at the hands of her abuser. On the night of Mahfood’s death, she reportedly gave Drummond the wrong medication by accident—he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia by that point, and had checked himself into Bellevue Hospital on two different occasions due to his mental health issues.

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That night, the Skatalites were set to play a New Year’s Eve concert, which Drummond missed due to the medication mix-up. Shortly after Mahfood returned from a night of work at a local club in Rockfort, Drummond attacked her. At 3:30 a.m., he stabbed Mahfood in the chest four times before fleeing the scene to report the incident to police as a suicide.

When the police arrived at the couple’s home, it was evident that this was not a case of suicide. The multiple stab wounds as well as the fact that Mahfood’s hand was found forcefully shoved inside of a trombone made it easy to deduce that Drummond had murdered her. When he went to trial, he was deemed criminally insane and was committed to Bellevue Hospital, where he remained until he died four years later at the age of 37.

The Tragic Case of Anita Mahfood, the Famous Rhumba Queen

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