Black Immigrant Daily News

The sentencing of a 17-year-old boy who was convicted of the 2018 rape, buggery and murder of a nine-year-old girl in Westmoreland, has been pushed back to later this week.

It is the second time the sentencing has been pushed back since the teenager was found guilty of all l three charges by a six-member jury in the Westmoreland Circuit Court on July 1.

The matter was initially set for sentencing on July 28, but was transferred to the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston for sentencing on Friday of last week.

However, High Court Judge, Justice Courtney Daye, was told that Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Paula Llewellyn, was unavailable for Friday’s sentencing hearing.

The convicted teenager was remanded in custody until Friday, September 23, when the sentencing hearing is expected to get under way.

According to the evidence that was led at the trial, the girl accepted the teenager’s invitation to pick apples together as they walked home from school.

However, she was sexually assaulted and killed by the teen boy, who contended at the trial that two men raped and killed the girl.

But the teenager admitted to having had sex with the girl after the two men had completed their ‘acts’.

Testimony from a leading DNA expert and forensic evidence proved that material found in the female minor’s anus matched that of the teenage boy.

A pathologist testified, too, that the child died from asphyxia due to manual strangulation, and there were lacerations to her vagina and anus.

Llewellyn, in speaking to reporters after the verdict in July, said the conclusion of the case has negative consequences for both the families of the victim and the convict.

“It’s a tragic situation… (for) the family of the deceased whose daughter who really suffered a brutal end, and the family of the accused whose son will have to take responsibility for what was a very, very awful moment of youthful exuberance,” she said at the time.

“I think that is the best way I can describe it, but it was an awful moment which really, really had negative consequences for the life of someone who he (the convict) grew up with, and he would have been in a position of trust since he was the bigger person,” Llewellyn further stated.

According to her, the conviction was a team effort, and “a very good case was compiled”.

The top prosecutor also stated that the relevant evidentiary material and exhibits were adequately presented at the trial.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

At least two persons are now missing after a boat capsized in the Essequibo River on Saturday.

The mishap occurred sometime between 18:45h and 19:00h in the vicinity of Calf Island, Essequibo River.

The vessel was captained by 34-year-old Jermin Blackman of Two Miles Potaro Road, Bartica, Region Seven. His bowman was 18-year-old Lamuel Allen of Four Miles, Bartica.

In addition to the two boat operators, there were 10 passengers in the vessel at the time of the incident including popular entertainer, Darrel Romeo called ‘Magnum’.

Blackman told investigators that they left Parika Stelling en-route to Bartica and during the journey, the vessel while navigating around a damaged Beacon which is about 100 feet east of Calf Island in the Essequibo River, collided with the beacon.

This resulted in the boat being punctured and beginning to sink. The captain said he attempted to sail to shore but the vessel sunk before reaching shore.

As a result, the passengers began swimming to the shore for safety. Information was circulated and public-spirited persons from Bartica went to the location and assisted in rescuing the survivors.

Upon checking, however, it was discovered that two persons were unaccounted for.

Police say it is unclear at this stage whether all the passengers were wearing life jackets at the time of the incident.

Nevertheless, the survivors were taken to Bartica Regional Hospital to seek medical attention and are being assessed.

Meanwhile, a search party is presently in the area making checks for the two persons who are feared drowned.

Both the Captain and Bowman are in custody assisting with investigations.

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Police ranks in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) have arrested two males following the discovery of an illegal weapon and narcotics during two separate operations.

One of those suspects is a 60-year-old male of Second Avenue, Bartica, who was caught with 24 grams of cannabis. The discovery was made at Third Avenue, Bartica, sometime around 01:12h today.

Reports are that acting on information received, the Police went to Third Avenue where they observed the suspect acting in a suspicious manner and was trying to conceal something in his hand.

The suspect then attempted to flee between neighbouring yards but was eventually apprehended by the police.

A search was conducted on his person but nothing illegal was found. A search was then carried out in the yard that the suspect ran through and the Police found a transparent parcel containing a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis.

The suspect was arrested and escorted to Bartica Police Station, with the suspected narcotics which was weighed and amounted to 24 grams.

The 60-year-old is presently in custody pending charges.

Meanwhile, hours prior at Sand Hill Landing, Cuyuni River, a Smith and Wesson Revolver along with four rounds of matching ammunition was seized from a known male.

Police say the weapon was retrieved by a 33-year-old Supernumerary Constable attached to Baksh Diamond Enterprise Security Service at about 06:15h on Saturday.

This was after the suspect was “knocked out” by a 22-year-old male, whom he assaulted with the firearm.

According to the 22-year-old man, he and the suspect had a misunderstanding over some money when the suspect whipped out the firearm and dealt him a lash to his head with the gun. The suspect was then dealt a punch to his face and lost consciousness.

The 22-year-old miner immediately took away the firearm from the suspect and discharged a round in the air.

He then handed over the gun along with the ammunition to the Supernumerary Constable, who made contact with ranks from the Itaballi Police Checkpoint and informed them of the incident.

The firearm along with the four matching rounds of ammunition and one spent shell were recovered from the scene.

Efforts made to locate the suspect – who went missing after regaining consciousness – proved futile.

However, the firearm along with the 22-year-old miner was escorted to the Bartica Police Station.

Further investigations are ongoing.

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LONDON (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden paid his respects at Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin on Sunday as thousands of police, hundreds of British troops and an army of officials made final preparations for the queen’s state funeral — a spectacular display of national mourning that will also be the biggest gathering of world leaders for years.

Biden and first lady Jill Biden were among thousands of mourners — from locals and tourists to royals and world leaders — to pay their respects at Westminster Hall, where the queen is lying in state. The president made the sign of the cross and put his hand to his heart as he stood quietly near the casket in the ornate 900-year-old hall with his wife and U.S. Ambassador Jane Hartley.

Biden then signed the official condolence book and attended a reception Sunday at Buckingham Palace hosted by King Charles III. He is one of 500 world leaders and royals invited to the queen’s state funeral Monday at Westminster Abbey, along with hundreds of British charity workers.

Biden called Queen Elizabeth II “decent” and “honourable” and “all about service” as he signed the condolence book, saying his heart went out to the royal family.

“Queen Elizabeth lived her life for the people,” Jill Biden wrote in a book for spouses and ambassadors. “She served with wisdom and grace. We will never forget her warmth, kindness and the conversations we shared.”

As the dignitaries poured in, the clock was ticking down for those seeking a place in the longest queue many have ever seen to file past the queen’s coffin. The miles-long queue is expected to be closed to new arrivals later Sunday so that everyone now in the line can view the coffin before Monday morning, when it will be taken to Westminster Abbey for the queen’s funeral.

Family by family, thousands of people kept joining the line around the clock, braving chilly overnight temperatures and waits of up to 17 hours in a queue that stretched for over 5 miles (8 kilometers).

Lauren Wilson, a 36-year-old student, was in the much shorter queue for people with mobility issues. She said she wanted to experience in person the coffin lying in state.

“The world is in such a weird place and then this happened. It feels more momentous,” she said.

She worried that the pageantry surrounding Elizabeth’s death deprives the queen’s relatives of the ability to come to terms with their loss.

“The family are not allowed to grieve. I find it quite heart-breaking,” she said.

The queen’s eight grandchildren, led by heir to the throne Prince William, circled the coffin and stood with their heads bowed during a silent vigil on Saturday evening.

Among the foreign leaders in London was New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who told the BBC she was humbled to represent her nation at the funeral and to witness the national outpouring of grief and respect for the late queen.

“The thing that I will take away from this period is just the beauty of the public’s response, the kindness that you see from members of the public, the patience, the camaraderie. That has been, for me, the most moving tribute of all, has been the public response of the British people,” she said.

People across the U.K. will also pause Sunday evening for a nationwide minute of silence to remember the queen, who died Sept. 8 at 96 after 70 years on the throne. Monday has been declared a public holiday, and the funeral will be broadcast to a huge television audience worldwide and screened to crowds in parks and public spaces across the country.

Police officers from around the country will be on duty as part of the biggest one-day policing operation in London’s history.

Crowds also gathered Sunday near Windsor Castle, where the queen will be laid to rest at a private family ceremony on Monday evening.

Steve Beeson came with his family of three and a bouquet of flowers he had purchased for the queen.

“She has been a constant steadying of the reins for the country through all of these really rough times, the least we can do is come and say ‘Thank you,’” he said.

Camilla, the queen consort, paid tribute to her mother-in-law in a video message, saying the monarch “carved her own role” as a “solitary woman” on a world stage dominated by men.

“I will always remember her smile. That smile is unforgettable,” said Camilla, who is married to Charles.

Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, was also among mourners paying respects to the queen’s coffin. British royal officials said Zelenska met with Catherine, the Princess of Wales, at Buckingham Palace on Sunday afternoon. They did not release further details. The British government has been among the strongest supporters of Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia in February.

On Saturday night, it was the grandchildren’s time to mourn. William and Prince Harry, Charles’ sons, were joined by Princess Anne’s children, Zara Tindall and Peter Philips; Prince Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie; and Prince Edward’s two children — Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.

William stood with his head bowed at the head of the coffin and Harry at the foot. Both princes, who are military veterans, were in uniform. The crowd kept slowly, silently filing past.

“You could see that they were thinking hard about their grandmother, the queen,” said Ian Mockett, a civil engineer from Oxford in southern England. “It was good to see them all together as a set of grandchildren, given the things that have happened over the last few years.”

The lying-in-state continues until early Monday morning, when the queen’s coffin will be moved on a gun carriage pulled by 142 Royal Navy sailors to nearby Westminster Abbey for the funeral, the finale of 10 days of national mourning for Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

After the service Monday at the abbey, the late queen’s coffin will be transported through the historic heart of London on the state gun carriage. It will then be taken in a hearse to Windsor, where the queen will be interred alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year at 99.

Sumita Tanda put down bright red roses as a huge floral tribute bloomed near Windsor Castle.

“I feel so privileged to be a local resident of Windsor,” she said. “I just wanted to pay my respects.”

By MIKE CORDER, JILL LAWLESS and DANICA KIRKA, Associated Press

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