Man who hacked wife to death then placed murder weapon on station counter gets 22 years

Oct 24, 2019 News

Athlone Pitt, the 45-year-old man who hacked his wife to death before walking into a police station and putting the murder weapons on a counter, was yesterday sentenced to a term of 22 years imprisonment for the crime.

KILLED: Cindy Pitt

CONFESSED WIFE KILLER: Athlone Pitt

Pitt, formerly of Lot 18 Chelsea Park Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, was charged with the June 01, 2016 murder of his wife, Cindy Pitt, whom he chopped several times.
Pitt, though indicted for murder, pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter.
The accused, who was represented by Attorney-at-Law Adrian Thompson, also pleaded guilty to wounding Brenda Thomas, his wife’s cousin, with the intent to cause her grievous bodily harm, or to maim, disable or disfigure her. He was sentenced to serve eight years imprisonment on this charge. Justice Jo Ann Barlow who imposed the sentences ordered that they are to run concurrently.
State Prosecutor Sarah Martin told the court that the day before killing his 31-year-old wife, Pitt visited the woman’s work place at the Bygeval Secondary School, where she worked as a security guard and told her, “This is the last day you would work here.”
According to the prosecutor, he had been in the habit of accusing his wife of “having another man.” On the day in question, he went to the school armed with a knife and a cutlass and chopped his wife and her cousin.

Both of the injured women were taken to the hospital where Cindy was pronounced dead on arrival. The prosecutor disclosed that after committing the act, Pitt surrendered himself at the police station where he dropped the murder weapons on a counter and confessed to the crimes. A post mortem examination revealed that one of the woman’s hand was severed below the wrist; her head was severed and barely hanging on.

The post mortem report also revealed that Pitt’s wife died as a result of shock and haemorrhage due to multiple incise wounds.
A Probation Officer told the court that during the last three years of his marriage, Pitt sold out all of his belongings and began imbibing alcohol frequently. She said that the man’s relatives informed her that they noticed a change in his behaviour. In fact, the Probation Officer revealed that family members said Athlone complained to them about attempting to take his own life.

Further, the Probation Officer told the court also in the last three years of his marriage, Athlone related that his wife became hostile and he began hearing rumors about her cheating and that persons in the area wound taunt him about it. The dead woman’s family, on the other hand, related to the Probation Officer that they were aware of the difficulties she was facing in the relationship.

They, however, said they could not intervene as Cindy told them that she loved her husband. Apart from this, it was revealed that the couple was facing infertility problems on the part of the husband who said that his wife was being encouraged to pursue other relationships in order to become pregnant.

During a plea in mitigation, Thompson described his client as a well behaved prisoner. He said that the other prisoners would call Athlone, a regular churchgoer, ‘Pastor.’ He asked the court to consider that his client has taken responsibility for his actions and has not wasted the court’s time in conducting a trial.

Athlone in his address to the court extended an apology to his wife’s family. Holding back tears, he begged the court for leniency and extended praises to God for keeping him through the years while incarcerated. Prior to his incarceration, he worked as a truck driver and carpenter. The prison authorities were ordered by the Judge to deduct from the sentence the time Athlone spent in pre trial custody which is roughly over three calendar years.

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