Man initially charged with murder gets two years for wounding

Jul 23, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – A mother on Thursday broke down in tears and said, “God is in charge” as she expressed her dissatisfaction with the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Shalimar Hack’s SC. decision to withdraw a murder charge against a suspect who was initially accused of killing her 19-year-old son on January 26 , last at East La Penitence, Georgetown.

Shawn Bobb

The suspect, Shawn Bobb had shared a relationship with the woman identified only as Codisha, and around 18:30hrs on January 26, last, he attacked her with a knife, reportedly because she had not finished cooking food.

Her teenage son, Isaiah Edwards, had intervened to save her but ended-up being stabbed too. They were both rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation for treatment but Edwards was transferred to Covid-19 Hospital at Liliendaal after he had tested positive for the virus and later died while receiving treatment.

Bobb was accused of murder and was captured by police disguised as woman and hiding out at a location in Mahaica, East Coast Demerara (ECD). He was slapped with a murder charge and remanded prison.

The document showing the victim’s cause of death.

On Thursday, during one of Bobb’s court appearances, the magistrate presiding over the matter made it known that the murder charge against him will be dropped. He was re-charged with unlawfully wounding Codisha and reportedly pleaded guilty to the offence. Kaieteur News understands that he was sentenced to two years behind bars for his unlawful act.

The decision to drop the murder charge against Bobb was one made by the DPP. Codisha said the DPP had explained to her that her son had died of COVID-19 and not of his stab wound. She believes, however, that it is possible that the decision made is assisting the suspect to get away with murder.

An autopsy was never conducted on Edwards’ body to determine his cause of death. Instead, investigators had to rely on a document from the hospital stating the “possible” cause of death for the victim could be either of three things: asphyxiation secondary to pulmonary respiration, stab wound to abdomen, and positive covid-19 test.

It is unclear what might have led the DPP to initially recommend that Bobb be charged with murder and why her office chose to drop that charge months after.

Codisha nonetheless told Kaieteur News that she disagrees with the DPP’s decision but “will leave everything in the hands of God.”