Jury says “Guilty”

| 20/07/2009

(CNS):  The jury took just over five hours to find William Martinez-McLaughlin guilty of the murder of Brian Rankine-Carter. The court heard the foreman deliver his verdict at 5:25pm on 20 July, having been sent to deliberate at a little after 12 noon. The defendant remained impassive as the verdict was read to the court and as the mandatory life sentence was handed down by Justice Alex Henderson. The lead detective on the case, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Kennett, said the defendant had been convicted on irrefutable evidence.

“William McLaughlin-Martinez has been convicted on significant and irrefutable evidence for the vicious murder of Brian Rankine-Carter,” said Peter Kennett. “There were certain issues raised during the trial concerning police procedures and these will be subject to a review. Our thoughts go to Brian’s family at this time and hope the verdict can bring some closure to their distress.”

The brutal murder took place in McField Lane, George Town, on 16 May 2008 when the naked and mutilated body of Rankine was discovered in a parking lot. According to the pathologist’s testimony, the murderer had administered 48 injuries to the victim with a machete and something akin to an ice-pick. The murder weapon was never recovered, however the Crown put together a case based on witness testimony from Jason Hinds, who was with McLaughlin on the night of the murder and who has been charged with accessory after the fact, and forensic evidence.

During the trial the court heard that there were a number of questions regarding the integrity of evidence in police custody including items that had not been properly processed, as well as evidence that had actually gone missing.

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  1. BRIAN ADRIAN RANKINE MOM says:

    BRIAN ADRIAN RANKINE [CARTER] I AM HIS MOTHER I NEVER LEFT MY SON HERE I PLEADED FOR THE COURTS TO RELEASE MY SON TO ME WHEN I WAS RELOCATING TO THE U.K. AND I WAS REFUSED BECAUSE HE WAS A WARD OF THE COURT , I BLAME THE SAME COURT SYSTEM FOR MY SON’S DEATH CAUSE I AM WHERE HE COULD HAVE GOTTEM THE HELP HE NEED MENTALLY HE NEVER GOTTEN OVER MRS CARTER DEATH HE LOVED HER SO MUCH AND HE NEVER REALLY RECOVERED I AM NOT ELOBARTING ON NO ONE COMMENTS BUT I WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW I LOVED AND STILL LOVE MY SON VERY MUCH AND NEVER STOP LOVING HIM SO THOSE OF YOU WHO THINK OR SAY OTHER WISE I ASK YOU TO THINK AGAIN CAUSE IT DONT GET EASIER TO BEAR IT GET HARDER KNOWING I WILL NEVER BE OLD BY HIM NO MORE NOR WRESSELED TO THE GROUND AND KISSED BY HIM I WAS A YOUNG MOTHER WHEN I FELL PREGNANT WITH HIM AND HIS FATHER IS EDDIE CARTER BUT HE BLANTELY DENIED HIM CAUSE I WAS UNDER AGE AND IF TRUTH BE KNOWN HE COULD HAVE GONE TO PRISON FOR IT SO HE DENIED HIM EVEN UNTILL HIS DEATH HE DENIED HIM EVEN HIS MOTHER SO NO ONE JUDGE ME I HAD TO GIVE HIM UP CAUSE THE COURTS FORCED ME TO GIVE HIM TO PEOPLE THEY THINK COULD GIVEN HIM A BETTER LIFE THAN I COULD SO I HAD TO DO AS THEY SAID I AM GREATFUL TO THE CARTERS AND I THANK THEM FOR HELPING ME RASIE MY SON AND FOR ME THEY ARE FAMILY NOT BY BLOOD BUT BY FAITH I LOVE EACH AND EVERYONE OF THEM BUT FOR YOU CAY MAN PLEASE DONT JUDGE ME CASUE HALF OFF YOU DONT KNOW ME AS FOR MY SON’S KILLERS I KNOW JUSITCE WAS SERVED AND I HOPE BRIAN CAN FINALLY REST IN PEACE AND THE OTHER ONE GET’S THE SAME RESULT LIFE IN PRISONMENT BUT I AM NOT THE JUDGE NOR JUROR BUT I KNOW GOD IS MY SOURCE OF COMFORT IN THESE TROUBLESOME TIMES AND THIS THAT HAPPENED TO ME COULD HAVE HAPPEN TO AND ONE OFF YOU HERE SO TOUCH NOT WHAT THE LORD HAS ANOINTED THANK YOU ALL AND HAVE A GOD DAY GOD BLESS

  2. Anon E Must says:

    I’m sorry but if I was a jury person I would have found him guilty the second he stepped in. I see the picture of him in cuffs and he looks proud of himself like he got street cred for doing it.

    Some people deserve the far east criminal system. Crime matches punishment….

  3. Anonymous says:

    Anyone hearing the case in Court would know that there was overwhelming evidence supporting Hinds’ testimony, including crucial forensic evidence.
    This should put a stop to the ‘speculation’ by people who are NOT in possession of the facts.
    The right man was convicted by a wise jury, and this very dangerous criminal is thankfully off our streets.

     

  4. Anonymous says:

    Caymanite you don’t know what the hell your talking about, Brian Had Family who care and loved him from both side of the fence meaning his adopted family and his biological family but like any young man his age when you as an adult talk to the young people these days they want to back chat and lick you down when you are trying to lead them on the right path so please stop spreading rumours that is not true. I’m Brians aunt and just two weeks before that i saw Brian and told him to come and stay with me but Brian refuse because he knows that i would not tolorate and put up with the action he chooses with his life. And please remember these shoes could have been on the other foot and you would not like if someone spoke falsely about you or your family. Please let Brian rest in Piece and justice has been served. Especially with Martinez Mclaughlin lets see what going to happened with the Jamaican.

  5. Anonymous says:

    As a born McLaughlin, I would like to know where the accused got McLaughlin from, because I lived here all my life and don’t know him or his family. 

    Anyone knows??

    • Anonymous says:

      Can someone tell me why the prisoner, who is in custody, is seen wearing a white towel draped over his person?  Is there not some sort of protocol  to be followed by the prison when it comes to prisoners in custody and their appearance?

        But then again,  who am I kidding? The so called leaders of the prison, the deputy and his director,  are never seen in uniforn as they consider the uniform good only for line officers but not themselves.  Hope to God  the LOG  and/or Mr. Manderson seek to bring some kind of  law and order to the prison as well. 

      A good , strong leader is badly needed up there ; after all, you are only as strong as your weakest link and in this case the weakness is at the top.

      The place is an accident just waiting to happen.  Hope we don’t wait  too long  to deal with the mess that’s up there or we’ll be dealing with a revolt or another escape by the prisoners.

       

    • Anonymous says:

      He is from Honduras where ther are a lot of Caymanian descendents so I am sure that is where he got McLaughlin from.

      • Anonymous says:

        Was Mclaughlin  not in some serious trouble before in some other jurisdiction as well?

  6. Anonymous says:

    Whoever posted that comment about Peter Kennet being the best investigator/detective etc has no clue about policing or prosecuting criminal cases.

    As I understand it, Peter Kennet was the Senior Investigating Officer on this case. This was very sloppy police work and this case could easily have been lost because of slackness.

    The primary witness (Hinds) clothing was not analysed until that problem was discovered shortly before the trial or during the trial and then there was the missing machete. How could the case get to this point without the Senior Investigating Officer (Kennet) realising these problems. Clearly he had not reviewed the case file prior to the submission of the file to the Legal Dept. And then he has the audacity to testify in court that he blew up when he discovered these problems on the commencement  of the trial.

    If he had reviewed the case file he would have seen these problems long before the file was even submitted to the Legal Dept to consider whether criminal charges should be brought. That was at least 12 months prior to the actual trial date !!!

    Commissioner Baines has said that he won’t tolerate unprofessionalism etc etc….well I suggest to the new Commissioner that he needs to begin his "sacking" with Peter Kennet for his slackness in this case which could have resulted in the acquittal of guilty persons. He is the accountable manager as the Senior Investigating Officer and it is time for him to go. We have lost too many cases in court under his "strategic management".

    • clearviewer says:

       

      I do not understand why Hinds did not get life also, they both contributed to this poor guuys daeth, and I ask why if Hinds saw and heard McLaughlin chopping up the guy I am sure that he had a cell phone, why not call 911 and report it, why wait untill they had to search.  They are both guilty in Gods eyes and the public also.  Sogive the b@#$%^$ what they desreve.

  7. Hmm... says:

    JUSTICE SERVED!

  8. AnExPat says:

    I hope he dies in prison a bitter, broken man. Hopefully he will find no solace in prison – no friends, no supporters. No one to stand by him after being convicted for such a crime.

    The price is a long, slow miserable existence in prison suffering life long hardship.  

    May this also serve as a warning to all the other wanna-be gansters out there.

    Cayman has had enough of it.

  9. Wes'Bay-a says:

    Our next step should be is to have the RCIPS Offier/s FIRED for the CARELESS HANDLING OF EVIDENCE!!   The possibility of a MURDERER WALKING FREE today was high if there had not been OTHER convicting evidence to support this case.  For too long we have allowed the ‘riff-raffs’ of other countries destroy the reputation of our police force. Its OBVIOUS that the training within the RCIPS is INADEQUATE and in DIRE NEED of Officers who can think on their feet!!  What deeply concerns me is how in this world did the Officers (some of them more senior than others) responsible for properly storing the evidence was not able to find it at the time of the case????  If they’re not capable of handling the storage of evidence, how then did they get promoted to the rank of Sgt or higher??????  Am I missing something here?????  I strongly believe we have a PROBLEM.  A problem because JUSTICE cannot be effectively carried out if evidence is allowed to be easily accessible to all other officers, if its not properly accounted for at all times and if its not stored, secured and tracked professionally.  For the solution to this PROBLEM, I suppose we could always petition Governor Jack to take action but that might cause this country more money for another law suit, again.  Then I suppose our next alternative would be to petition the UDP govt, having been advised by the Media that there’s going to be staff ‘cuts’.  Maybe the UDPgovt should start there.

  10. Thankful says:

    Blessed be the name of the Lord Jesus. 

    May Brian soul RIP.  I pray for his mom, his siblings and the rest of his family – may you find some comfort in answered prayer for justice and clarity. 

    We are grateful for the men and women of the jury, the lawyers (defense and prosecution) the judge, police and all the court staff that, no-doubt have had to journey through what sounded like a horror film.  I pray that each of you will know that you were tapped by hands greater than you to do what you had to do…may you know that those seems hands will guide you through your own personal healing.  Thanks to each of you.

    No doubt, there are questions to be answerd better yet, solutions for the challenges that were uncovered by this case; but, today I am still very grateful that we have a judicial system, caring men and women of the force and participatory community-trials (jurors).  The system works guys, albeit there are squeeks that need oiling.  There are many people in many parts of the world that cry out for the squeeks of their systems to be heard – to no avail.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Expat 360 – you have lost the plot – "completely down to the only proper, qualified and decent senior investigating officer on the island, Peter Kennett".

    As you so rightly point out, Kennet is the Chief Inspector and the supervisor in charge, so the responsibility for the evidence-gathering techniques that you complain about – falls at his shoes as the supervisor. 

    If he wants the title and salary, Kennett must accept the responsibility to oversee the investigation — his rather painfully obvious failures to do that properly leaves him in a poorer light than his underlings:  especially since he supposed achieved that rank by having more "experience" in the UK.  So much for that.  Everybody turns up here, proclaiming themselves as an expert or better than the locals. Well, at the senior level, Kennett is paid to deliver in his work (i.e. properly investigate and gather evidence), not try.

     

    • Expat 180 says:

      to  Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 07/21/2009 – 08:57., you are right of course, in the same way that I say Kennett and the evidence gatherers (soco) should be given credit for the verdict, he should be, and has been, publicly, accountable for the mistakes in this trial.

       

      HOWEVER, thos efacts do not mean that he is repsonsible for the SG being so completely out of her depth, or his bosses taking credit for the verdict by sitting back and reaping the rewards with an ‘I TOLD YOU WE WERE GOOD AT THIS’ attitude. There is a stink within the RCIPS and Mr Baines has already recognised it. He says there are willing and able officers at the ground level, but has publicly chastised officers for airing their dirty laundry and grieveances in public.. XXXXXX.

      The problems with the RCIPS are with the middle level supervisors, and most of the upper level officers, who are just apssengers on a Govt Paycheck.

      How many times have we seen a senior rank out on the gound recently? Well, MTr Baines was, and so was Ennis, but only since Mr Baines has been here to tell him to be.

       

      Is everything foreign better than everything Caymanian? NO!, BUt that doesn’t mean everything Caymanian is better than everything foreign, either.

      If you can’t compromise, then stop buying foreign goods, stop sending your children abroad for a proper education, stop taking money off tourist, and stop moaning!

       

       

  12. anonymous says:

    RIP Brian.  Now can our Police please go through some cold case files and find the answers to the unsolved ones.

  13. Anonymous says:

    Guilty in spite of the police investigation rather than because of it I feel!!

  14. Anonymous says:

    I am a family member of Brian Rankine-Carter.  

    Today was only the beginning ina long process of healing and understanding.   I will be the first to admit that Brian was not that close to his family.  None the less he was family.  We all chose the paths that we go but his was not decided by him…..His fate was decided by a man who decided to take his life and end it.

    XXX

    I want to thank all of those who supported the family during this hard time.  I can only now hope that the families of other victims recently affected by crime in this island can have the same satisfaction as our family might get from knowing that the likes of this muderous bastard will never have to walk our street again.  I can only pray…

  15. Expat 180 says:

    This is not down to the legal department, this is not down to the prosecutor, this result, the correct result, is soley and irrefutably down to the evidence gatherers and absolutel, totally and completely down to the only proper, qualified and decent senior investigating officer on the island, Peter Kennett.

    Put this is contect Cayman, get rid of the people pretending to be senior officers in the RCIPS, judge an officer by the results he or she achieves, and stand behind this calibre of man, Peter Kennett, the man who has got the results to keep your parents, grandparents, yourselves, your children, and all your families safe, and condemn all those bick biting bogots who seek to remove him and his kind.

  16. backstroke says:

    Justice has been served.

  17. Anonymous says:

    About time justice was served for a murder commited in Cayman.  Now we need to see it for a few more.

  18. Anonymous says:

    What a horrible crime, hopefully the family of the victim can find some peace.

  19. Anonymous says:

    My heartfelt condolences go out to this poor boy’s friends and family. I hope this is closure for them.

    But was this young man robbed of real and fair justice? Shouldn’t 2 people have been convicted?! or at least tried? What is done is done…and so now I hope we can expect some sort of enquiry in to the investigation, the allegation of corruption and the actions of the police officers. All the public ask and deserve is that an independent investigation take place and a true and fair conclusion be drawn.

    Because the things that were revealed in this trial demand attention, rectification and if they are true then they must NEVER happen again.

    XXXXXXX

    if this is to be a democratic, safe, and modern society these questions must be asked, investigated and independently answered. I really hope this was just a series of a mistakes that can be learnt from as opposed to what I really fear is going on on this island….. just because that’s the ‘way things are here’…doesn’t make it right, doesn’t make it good enough and doesn’t mean that change can’t happen.

    Lets see what Mr Kennet or Mr Baines can do. I’ll be watching this space.

     

    • frank rizzo says:

      But was this young man robbed of real and fair justice? Shouldn’t 2 people have been convicted?! or at least tried?

       

      The other individual involved had already pled guilty to being an accessory after the fact. He will not be tried but will be sentenced.

       

      • Anonymous says:

        Yea!! for how long?? This is not justice. I see “favorite” or something went on there, that guy lied about everything why should his words be counted.

        if one went for life the other should as well because no one knows for sure who did the killing. But one thing was for sure the murder weapon(s) were all found in Hinds house… why weren’t they send for testing.. Justice??? this is bull. …and the police needs to be under investigations there were too much ifs and buts there.

         

        • Anonymous says:

          "…there were too much ifs and buts there". 

          Well, clearly the jury did not agree and they had full opportunity to assess all the evidence. The case was not simply a matter of he said vs. he said. The physical evidence clearly pointed to Martinez-McLaughlin as the one who actually committed the murder. Hinds has not got off scott- free but has been charged as accessory after the fact. 

          If no one knew for sure who did the killing then the legal result is that they would both be acquitted, not convicted, for murder.       

          Since you are pushing the Defence’s implausible line my guess is that you are somehow connected to Mr. Martinez-Mclaughlin. 

          • Anonymous says:

            Well clearly he did not come out of the ground, he of course have family & friends that love him very much. and I am not saying that his innocent  that is crystal clear but if the investigation had been conducted correctly then there wouldn’t have been so much missing pieces to the puzzle. And to answer the question to the person who was asking where his McLaughlin is from? Don’t worry it’s not from Cayman.

            May the Lord Bless you all!!

             

  20. Anonymous says:

    Thank God for a brave and strong Jury!! 

  21. Anonymous says:

    Thank God!!  the family of  the late Brian Rankine-Carter can now put this terrible terrible episode in their life to rest. Justice was served and i’m glad that the truth came out in the end. He seemed to have no remorse and should have been given 2 life sentences for the horrible way in which he killed Brian and tried to play innocent in all this.

    I hope he can sleep at nites knowing how he brutally killed someone in cold blood.