The Tragic Death of Peter Tosh: Unravelling the Mystery Behind His Murder
- Aug 20, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Jul 23
Peter Tosh, one of the most iconic and revolutionary figures in reggae music, was brutally murdered on the night of September 11, 1987. Known for his unapologetic advocacy for human rights, Tosh had long been a voice of resistance against oppression. His tragic death at the hands of a man he had once tried to help shocked not only the music world but the wider global community. The details surrounding his murder reveal a story of betrayal, greed, and unresolved questions that continue to haunt his legacy nearly 40 years later.
The Stepping Razor
Born Winston Hubert McIntosh on October 19, 1944, in Westmoreland, Jamaica, Tosh was raised largely by relatives after being abandoned by his parents, and moved to Kingston's Trench Town district as a teenager. It was there he taught himself guitar, reportedly by watching a local musician play the same song for half a day and then replicating everything he'd seen note for note. He went on to co-found The Wailers alongside Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, and after leaving the group in 1973 built a fierce solo career defined by outspoken activism around marijuana legalisation, human rights and his Rastafari faith. He earned the nickname "Stepping Razor" from his own song of the same name, in which he described himself as dangerous, and performed with a custom guitar shaped like an M16 rifle to hammer the point home. He also held a black belt in martial arts, a detail that would matter a great deal on the night he died.
A Peaceful Night Shattered
On the night of his death, Peter Tosh was at home with his common law wife, Marlene Brown, and some close friends. According to Brown's testimony, they were enjoying a quiet evening at Tosh's Barbican Road residence in Kingston, Jamaica. It was around 7:30pm, and the group had gathered in the living room watching a satellite programme, sharing drinks and laughter, when the peace of the evening was violently disrupted.
The door was suddenly thrown open, and three men stormed in, one of them Dennis "Leppo" Lobban, a man Tosh had befriended and tried to help reintegrate into society after a lengthy prison sentence. Lobban was armed and accompanied by two unknown assailants, also armed. He immediately demanded that everyone in the room "belly it," ordering them to lie face down on the floor.
Lobban demanded U.S. dollars, seemingly aware Tosh had recently returned from a business trip to the United States where he was expected to be paid in American currency. It's believed Lobban may have overheard Tosh discussing the money on the phone, sparking the idea for the robbery. When Tosh said he had no money in the house, the atmosphere turned tense. Lobban accused Tosh of giving his partner Marlene "authority" over him, and blamed her for his own inability to get financial help out of Tosh.
Violence Escalates
As the ordeal wore on, Lobban ordered his accomplices to disarm Tosh, aware the reggae icon was a black belt martial artist. Tosh was frisked, and one of the gunmen struck him on the head with a gun, knocking him unconscious. Marlene Brown protested, but Lobban threatened to kick the already helpless Tosh, leaving her terrified and powerless to intervene.
Not long after, there was a knock at the door. The gunmen opened it to find Jeff "Free I" Dixon, a popular disc jockey, and his wife, who'd come to visit Tosh unaware of the danger inside. They were ordered to lie face down too, and when Free I hesitated, a gun was jabbed into his side to force compliance. Wailers drummer Carlton "Santa" Davis was also among those taken hostage that night. The gunmen stripped everyone in the room of jewellery and belongings, turning what had been a relaxed evening into a scene of terror.
Then, without warning, the gunmen opened fire. A barrage of bullets killed Peter Tosh, Wilton "Doc"
Brown, and Jeff "Free I" Dixon instantly. Marlene Brown was shot in the head but miraculously survived. Davis was hit too, and years later had an X-ray done that showed the bullet still lodged near his spine, close enough that doctors advised leaving it exactly where it was rather than risk removing it. As the gunmen prepared to leave, one noticed Marlene was still alive and moved to finish her off, but Lobban ordered him to leave, insisting she was already dead. She lay motionless, pretending to be dead, while the men fled the scene.
The Aftermath and Arrest
The attack left the music world reeling, and the hunt for the culprits began immediately. Detective Senior Superintendent Isadore "Dick" Hibbert, who led the investigation, soon apprehended Dennis "Leppo" Lobban after a confession from a co-accused, Steve Russell, a taxi driver who'd driven the gunmen to Tosh's home that night.
Russell's testimony revealed key details. He claimed he'd been hired by Lobban to transport him and the two other men to Tosh's house, with no knowledge of their intentions. After waiting nearby, he heard gunshots and saw the men running back to his taxi with guns in hand. At Lobban's command, Russell drove them from the scene, but police quickly picked up the trail.
Russell sought advice from Police Constable Leonard Austin, who told him to keep quiet about his involvement. When confronted by detectives, though, Austin denied the conversation ever happened, which led to Russell's arrest. The following morning, Russell learned about the murders and, fearing the consequences, cooperated with police, ultimately helping lead them to Lobban.
The Trial and Convictions
Lobban was brought to trial for the murders of Peter Tosh, Free I, and Wilton Brown. His defence relied on an alibi, claiming both Marlene Brown and another survivor, Michael Robinson, had personal vendettas against him. The court found otherwise. Lobban gave evidence in his own defence, an unusual move in a murder trial, but his account was unconvincing, and the jury took just eleven minutes to convict him, one of the fastest deliberations in Jamaican legal history.
Steve Russell was acquitted of all charges after his lawyer successfully argued the evidence against him was insufficient; despite driving the men to and from the scene, the court ruled he'd had no prior knowledge of the robbery or murders.
Lobban appealed his conviction, but the Court of Appeal dismissed the case in 1990, affirming a "powerful case" had been made against him. His death sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1995.
Leppo's Side of the Story
Lobban has always maintained his innocence, and in a rare 2003 interview from prison, he gave his own account of a falling out with Tosh that predated the murder by years. He claimed the dispute began after he was caught driving Tosh's Volvo while Tosh was on tour abroad, and that a confrontation over it never fully healed the relationship between them. He also suggested, without fully committing to the claim, that persistent rumours were partly true: that he'd once taken a criminal charge to protect Tosh's career, and felt Tosh never properly repaid him for it, financially or otherwise, in the years that followed.
In prison, Lobban became a published author and dub poet, writing while held at Kingston's General Penitentiary and later having some of his work archived by the British Library. He also played in a prison band called The Bloom of Light. Reports on his more recent status are genuinely unclear: several accounts describe unconfirmed rumours that he died in custody around 2018, while other sources, including Jamaica's Department of Correctional Services, have maintained he remained alive and incarcerated well after that date. Nothing about his current status has been definitively confirmed either way.
Unanswered Questions and Theories
While Dennis Lobban was convicted, plenty about the crime remains unresolved. He refused to reveal the identities of the two other gunmen who accompanied him that night, and they were never publicly identified or brought to justice.
Theories persist that Tosh's murder may have been more than a robbery gone wrong. Some believe his outspoken political views and influence may have made him a target for reasons beyond money; Jamaica in the 1980s was a politically volatile country, and Tosh's militant stance on social issues may have made him enemies in high places. Others believe the crime was more personal, an act of betrayal by a man Tosh had tried to help, with genuine resentment tangled up with the greed.
The Legacy of Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh's death was a devastating loss for music and activism alike. He was a fearless voice for justice who used his platform to fight oppression, inequality and corruption, and songs like "Legalize It" and "Equal Rights" continue to resonate with new generations of listeners. In 2012, twenty five years after his death, the Jamaican government posthumously awarded him the Order of Merit, one of the country's highest honours.
His legacy also has a permanent home. The Peter Tosh Museum opened in November 2016 at the Pulse Complex on Trafalgar Road in New Kingston, holding artefacts, instruments and personal items that trace his life from Trench Town to international stardom. The museum sees its heaviest visitor numbers around his birthday, Reggae Month each February, and the anniversary of his death every September, when fans still gather to remember a man who never let go of his fight for justice, even at the cost of his own life.
His daughter, Niambe Tosh, has continued carrying that legacy forward, including visits to Peter Tosh Town, a community in Westmoreland named in his honour near where he was born. For anyone wanting the fullest picture of who he was beyond the murder itself, the 1992 documentary Stepping Razor: Red X remains the definitive account, built around Tosh's own personal audio diaries and offering a rare, unfiltered look at his politics, his spirituality, and the man behind the Stepping Razor persona.
