James Cockayne’s mom calls USVI cops probing Jamie Cail death ‘inept’

The mother of a US Virgin Islands tourist beaten to death by Jamie Cail’s rumored boyfriend more than a decade ago has warned that it will be difficult to get justice in the ex-swimming champ’s death — claiming “inept” local police can’t be trusted to investigate the case.

Jean Cockayne, the mother of James Cockayne, 21, who was killed outside a bar on St. John while visiting from Pennsylvania in 2007, told the Daily Mail she was forced to hire private detectives to get justice for her son.

“We advertised for a $10,000 reward so people could help us. Witnesses who bravely gave evidence in his trial had to then move off the island,” Cockayne told the outlet.

Kamal “Six Pack” Thomas, 34, reportedly the boyfriend of the late Cail, 42, was among several assailants convicted in Cockayne’s killing. He was initially charged with first-degree murder but was convicted of assault and weapons charges and spent eight years behind bars for the violent crime.

Sources have told Fox News Digital that Thomas was dating Cail and found the Maine native dead on Feb. 21 in the home she shared with him on the island. Police said her death is under investigation and they’re “anxiously awaiting” the results of an autopsy.

But Cockayne’s mother said she is not confident that authorities will get answers in the athlete’s death.

“The police aren’t going to do anything, everyone knows everyone on the island or they are related, so they cover for each other. No one wants to lose their tourist dollars,” she told the Daily Mail.

“Our case was very, very complicated, and the VIPD [Virgin Islands Police Department] are just as inept now as they were then. People who go to the island just think it won’t happen to them, but it can,” she said.

Cockayne said she was first told of Cail’s death by a local resident who called her about the police investigation.

“Apparently she was an extraordinary young woman but she made some bad choices with men,” Cockayne said about Cail.

“But this guy is just bad to the bone. He is an evil person. It’s a very dangerous place to go and live on the islands. I feel horrible for her family because I know what they’re going through,” she added.

She warned that even if authorities file charges in the case, the family still might not see justice.

Thomas’ first conviction was thrown out in her son’s case after it was revealed that prosecutors failed to turn over a key piece of evidence for his trial, according to the Daily Mail.

At a second trial in 2010, he was convicted of third-degree assault, simple assault, weapons charges and threatening a witness. Thomas was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with two years suspended, and was fined $11,750.

But Cockayne’s mother said that in the USVI, people handed lengthy prison sentences come up for parole every six months after just a year or two in the slammer.

“Every six months, me and my family were dragged down to the islands to attend a parole hearing. It’s ridiculous,” Cockayne told the outlet.

“How can you kill someone and have a parole hearing every six months after only a few years. It is very much cowboy country, it’s a horrible situation. I feel terrible for her family,” she added.

Virgin Islands authorities told CNN this week that all deaths are reviewed by the Criminal Investigations Bureau and that Cail’s case involves “a lot of moving parts.”

Cail competed across the US growing up including winning a gold medal for the US in a relay race at the 1997 Pan Pacific Championships, according to the swimming news website Swim Swam.