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Ex-prison warder gets life imprisonment for wife’s murder

Mar 02, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Justice Sandil Kissoon on Tuesday, at the Berbice High Court in New Amsterdam, imposed a life imprisonment sentence on Sheldon Antonio Prince, a former prison warder.
Antonio who is nicknamed “Warder” of Lot 40 Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, Berbice, is expected to serve his time with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
Last month, Prince pleaded guilty to brutally murdering his wife, and the mother of his daughter, Lonnette Nicholson-Prince.
The murder occurred in December of 2016. Previous reports detailed that on December 28, 2016, Prince armed himself with a knife and entered the premises of the National Psychiatric Hospital in Berbice where Nicholson-Prince worked as a hairdresser/cosmetologist.
There, he dealt her several stabs about her body. In his testimony, Government Pathologist, Vivekanand Bridjmohan, said a total of fifteen stab wounds were inflicted on the victim’s body.
Meanwhile, a report presented by Probation Officer, Maisie Shepherd, prior to the sentence yesterday, detailed that as a youngster Prince suffered from depression and mental health challenges due to his parent’s separation.
The report revealed nonetheless that therapy was never sought for the young Prince since he kept his issues a secret.
The report also described Prince as a “quiet individual,” who started a relationship with his now deceased wife when she was just 17-years- old. The pair later got married and had a child. That child is now nine-years-old.
According to the probation report, the deceased indicated to her parents that they were having problems in the marriage, that she was enduring abuse at the hands of her husband.
As such, she sought a protection order.
Cheryl Nicholson, the dead woman‘s mother, related in the report that she wanted justice for the loss of her daughter.
She is said to have had sleepless nights due to the fact that she had lost her daughter in such a gruesome manner. She is currently the caretaker and guardian of her granddaughter’s child.
The child was interviewed by the probation officer as well. She indicated that she cries whenever she thinks about her mother, especially during the nights before she sleeps.
Meanwhile, prior to the sentencing, when asked if he had anything to say, Prince told the court that he had no intention to kill anyone.
“All I wanted was to be a father to my child,” he said.
The man subsequently broke down in tears and asked to be excused to compose himself.
In handing down the sentence, Justice Kissoon described domestic violence as a “hidden pandemic” that often leads to fatal consequences.
The Judge noted that domestic violence continues to be prevalent and unchecked at every part of the society.
He stressed that “intimate partners and spouses alike are subjected to an unparallel wave of abject cruelty and brutality and made to suffer in silence…”
Calling the act committed a “gruesome premeditated act of cold blooded murder”, Justice Kissoon said that Prince “cannot look to this court for clemency and mercy, there can’t be none in the circumstances of this gruesome horrific crime.”
As it relates to the mitigating factors in the case, while the accused is said to have no prior convictions, Justice Kissoon noted that this does not dilute the gravity of what he has done. Justice Kissoon said that the crime itself goes beyond a case of domestic violence. He emphasized on the cruelty and premeditated efforts that went into committing the offence.
Prince was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 30 years. Justice Kissoon also ordered that given the details of the probation report, Prince seeks remedial training and anger management classes to assist him before he is re-integrated into society after serving time.
In the case, State Prosecutrix, Abigail Gibbs presented the indictment while Prince was represented by attorney-at-law, Mursaline Bhaccus.

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