Better Hope man found guilty of killing girlfriend in deadly 2011 fire

Oct 16, 2014 News

Accused killer, Dellon Gordon was yesterday found guilty of a crime he committed almost three years ago at his Better

Murdered: Natasha Johnson

Hope, Squatting Area, East Coast Demerara home.
On July 4, 2011 Gordon reportedly set his residence on fire, causing the death of his girlfriend Natasha Johnson. The incident took place during a verbal dispute at the couple’s home.
Johnson, a mother of four, was burnt extensively and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, (GPHC) where she later succumbed to her injuries.
Days later, her lover was charged with the offence. He was on trial before Justice Navindra Singh and a mixed twelve-member jury.
After spending two hours deliberating on the outcome of the case, yesterday the jury returned a guilty verdict. When asked if he had anything to say after the announcement, Gordon stood in the dock and declared that he is innocent.
Gordon then whispered something in the ear of one of his attorneys, who in turn asked the court to allow him to sit since he had indicated that he was feeling faint.
In light of the guilty verdict, State Prosecutor Judith Gildharie Mursalin asked the court to consider the overwhelming evidence against the accused and horrific circumstance in which the victim -a mother of four met her demise and also that the case involved domestic violence before sentencing.
Attorney -at -Law, Dawn Holder -Alert, who represented the accused in association with her colleague, Raymond Alli, subsequently stood up and requested a probation report on behalf of her client.
Taking this request into consideration, Justice Singh suspended sentencing until November 3.
On Monday, while leading his defence, the Better Hope Squatting area resident told the court that he is innocent of the charge.

Guilty: Dellon Gordon

However, neighbours and relatives testifying during the trial recalled the abusive relationship which the couple shared before the woman eventually met her death in 2011.
In her evidence, Melissa Johnson who lived a few houses away from the couple recalled that “Dellon never want Natasha to talk to anybody and when she did he would beat her.”
In addition, the victim’s nine year-old son told the court that he witnessed the accused set his mother on fire.
The boy recalled that his mother and stepfather had been arguing on the night of the incident. He said that his stepfather had left the house to purchase bread but when he returned his mother had locked the doors. The lad said that his stepfather gained entry into the house through a window.
The child recalled that his stepfather had emptied kerosene from a stove into a container and threw it on his mother before using a yellow lighter to set her on fire. He recalled that the house became engulfed in flames and his mother was screaming. The child said that he escaped with his two other siblings. He recalled that his mother had rushed outside the house to a drum which contained water, crying and soaking her skin. That was the last time he saw his mother.
A Post Mortem examination revealed that Johnson had suffered from a dislocated nasogastric tube, brain haemorrhage and congested kidneys with heavy lungs that oozed a bloody liquid. These injuries led to Johnson suffering from Adult Distress Respiratory Syndrome (ADRS) which was brought on as a result of trauma from the burns, eventually leading to her death.