The Portland police have charged Odane Passley, 21, with the murder of his common-law wife, Kelly-Ann Smith, who was fatally stabbed during a quarrel in the Mountain Pleasant community last week.

Passley is scheduled to appear in the Buff Bay Resident Magistrate's Court today to answer to a charge of murder.

According to a police report, Smith was walking along the roadway about 10:15 a.m en route to a health clinic with her two-month-old baby when she was approached by Passley.

It is reported that an heated argument developed between the two, during which a knife was pulled and Smith stabbed twice in the neck.

She was rushed to the Port Antonio Hospital by passers-by who saw her lying in bushes covered with *lo**. She died while being treated.

Passley was picked up in the Orange Bay area some 10 miles away after eluding police for more than six hours. The baby was unharmed and is being cared for by relatives.