Wife found guilty of manslaughter

Feb 12, 2010 News

– probation report requested

Murder accused Michelle Skeete was yesterday found guilty on the lesser count of manslaughter when her trial concluded at the Berbice High Court, before Justice Winston Patterson and a mixed jury.
The woman, a mother of four, of Cumberland, East Canje Berbice, was before the court charged with murdering her reputed husband, Superintendent of Prisons Lincoln Gilead on May 14, 2006. She was accused of dousing him with a flammable liquid and setting him alight while he was asleep at their home in Cumberland, following a misunderstanding.
The jury after listening to Justice Patterson’s summation, retired and after deliberating for just under three hours, returned with the verdict of not guilty of murder, but guilty on the lesser count of manslaughter.
Defence attorney Charrandass Persaud earlier in his summation to the jury, had pinned his submissions on two points. He said that in the first instance there was no evidence to prove that the accused had any motive to kill her reputed husband and secondly, there was no confrontation held between the accused and the man while he was hospitalized before he died.
State Prosecutor Dionne Mc Calmon who presented the state’s case cited four points as her main areas of argument which she said were proven by the prosecution.
She told the jury that it was the accused who inflicted the injuries on Gilead; that he died as a result of the injuries inflicted; when the accused inflicted the injuries on the victim she had all intentions of killing him, and Gilead died within a year and a day of receiving the injuries.
The trial, which began on February 2, saw the prosecution calling six witnesses including two of the dead man’s brothers, Errol Gilead and Royden Gilead.
Government Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh also testified about conducting a post mortem and gave the cause of death as Septicemia.
Three policemen also took the witness stand.
Detective Sergeant Charles Brown, the lead investigator in the matter, Detective Sgt. and police photographer, Glenford Burnette, who testified about his role in taking photographs from the scene, and Detective Corporal Lennox Sears also testified about assisting with the entire investigation.
The Defence had called one witness, the brother of the accused, Prison Officer Claude Skeete. However they were forced to close their case after potential witness, Deon Gilead, the 21-year-old son of the couple, failed to show up to give testimony.
The defence had also planned to once again cross-examine Detective Corporal Lennox Sears, but he had exams on the day.
After the verdict was passed, defence attorney Persaud asked the judge for an adjournment and requested if a Probation Report could be ordered, a request which was granted. Justice Patterson then set March 4 as the date for the report to be presented, and sentencing.
Skeete was committed to stand trial by Magistrate Geeta Chandan Persid-Edmond at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s court Attorney at Law Mursaline Bacchus was retained as a Special Prosecutor for the Preliminary Inquiry, while the late attorney at law Johnny Persaud had represented the accused.
Bacchus had told the lower court that the incident had happened because of jealousy and hatred. He had said that Gilead was at home sleeping and the accused waited when she was certain that he was asleep, before dousing him and setting him alight.
He was first rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital and was later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he died some seven days after, after enduring immense suffering and pain.
The accused was first charged with attempted murder, but was later charged with the capital offence after Gilead succumbed in hospital.

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Wife found guilty of manslaughter

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