Archive for February 22nd, 2010
GUILTY!
(CNS): Updated 7pm – Co-defendants Kirkland Henry (left) and Larry Ricketts (right) have both been found guilty of the murder of Estella Scott-Roberts in October 2008. Chief Justice Anthony Smellie read his judgment to a packed courtroom this afternoon as he sent the two men to prison for the rest of their lives. The judge made it clear that he did not believe what he said were Henry’s self serving statements that he had not played a part in the murder or that Ricketts’ confession, where he clearly admitted his role in the crime, was fabricated by the police. Both men showed little emotion as their life sentence was handed down.
During the reading of his judgement, which took over two hours to deliver, the chief justice made it clear that he believed the confession made by Larry Ricketts to the police was done so freely and that his claim that the confession was concocted by the police was false. Smellie pointed to a number of reasons why he was left in no doubt that the admission had been given by Ricketts freely, including the continuous flow of the statement as well as the detail contained in it that could not have come from anywhere else but a person present at the crime.
Ricketts self-incrimination when he was in the witness stand relating to the court about when became aware of the death of Scott-Roberts was also noted by the chief justice, who said that it was very clear to the court that he had revealed that he was aware of the crime before the body had been discovered.
The country’s top judge told the court that he rejected Henry’s account that there was no pre-planning or that he had withdrawn from the joint criminal enterprise. Pointing not only to the inconsistencies and self-serving nature of his testimony, the chief justice said Henry’s chilling and casual explanation for his participation in the rape as well as his decision to keep indecent imagery of the crime on his phone after the event pointed to his full participation in all the crime, including the murder.
The chief justice concluded that any comments Henry had made to Ricketts about not wanting to kill her and that if Rickets did he should do it were no indication of withdrawal but of approval of the crime and just an indication he did not wish to commit the act. “I do not accept he made any attempt to withdraw from the criminal enterprise,” the chief justice stated before he indicated he was satisfied that Henry was guilty of murder.
Following the verdict the officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Kennett, said his thoughts were with Estella’s husband, Rayle Roberts, her mother and her family and friends.
“Having to hear firsthand the terrible ordeal that Estella had to endure does not bear thinking about. Words fail me to describe the agony that Estella had to endure at the hands of Ricketts and Henry. “They have rightly been convicted on overwhelming evidence and will spend the rest of their days in prison,” Kennett said.
During the trial the crown set out its evidence against the two men, who violently abducted Scott-Roberts from the Decker’s car park on Friday 10 October before driving her in her own car to the Barkers area of West Bay. According to the confession of Henry, both men then raped her while she was bound and gagged before they murdered her by suffocating her with a garbage bag. Following the killing the two men set light to the vehicle in which they had left her body and watched it burn before they waited until the morning to catch a bus to return to George Town, where they attempted to profit from their crime by using her ATM card to withdraw cash from her account.
The men were eventually apprehended by the police as a result of tracing one of the deceased’s phones to Henry, who revealed Ricketts as his accomplice.
Fraser brothers shine at SEC Championships
(CNS): After two and a half days of the four day competition at the SEC Conference Championships, both Shaune and Brett Fraser have automatically qualified for the upcoming NCAA Championships while swimming for the University of Florida Gators, Swim Coach Dominic Ross reports. On Day one, Shaune and Brett both formed part of the 800Freestyle relay which in dominating the event, also set the SEC Meet record and qualified for the NCAA’s.
Shaune also swam the butterfly leg of the 200 Medley Relay team which finished second in the event behind Auburn University and also qualified for the NCAA Meet.
Day two saw Shaune grab an individual title in the 200IM ahead of teammate Omar Pinzon, both meeting the NCAA automatic qualifying time in that event. Brett swam in the finals of the 50Free, finishing 5th in a strong field. The brothers then both stepped up again on their schools relay team, this time the 200free relay, with the team finishing third in that event.
The heats of day three saw them both making their way through to the night’s finals. Brett in the 200free and Shaune in the 100fly, where they will both look to improve upon their morning positions and score valuable points for the Gators on Friday evening.
The University of Florida currently trails Auburn University by only 9 points in the overall standings with the host Georgia Bulldogs a not too distant third.
The Competition concludes on Saturday when Brett will be contesting the 200 backstroke and 100 freestyle and Shaune the 100 Free and 200 Butterfly events.
Full results are available live at http://www.georgiadogs.com/fls/8800/stats/swimdive/2010/sec/swim/index.htm
Cayman Heart Fund enlists governor as patron
(CNS): As well as raising around $20,000, the Cayman Heart Fund got an additional boost to their patronage at its annual Red Dress Valentine’s gala. Guest of honour, Governor Duncan Taylor, graciously accepted the CHF’s request to be the Fund’s new patron, the fund said in a release. During a short speech at the event, held at the Westin Casuarina over the Valentine’s weekend, Governor Taylor said he was delighted to accept the role of patron and was impressed by the turn out at the gala event, whereby female guests had all turned out resplendent in red dress. He said supporting the community gave a great deal of personal satisfaction. (Photo: CHF Chairman Suzy Soto, CHF Medical Director Dr Sook Yin, Governor Duncan Taylor and Mrs Taylor)
“When one has done something useful such as support the Cayman Heart Fund in this way it leaves one with something of a glow. There is real satisfaction in putting something back into society.”
As well as enjoying a glittering night of wonderful food and wine, music and dancing, guests also had the chance to bid for their own unique piece of artwork created by one of Cayman’s talented local artists and donated especially for the event.
Suzy Soto, Chairman of the Cayman Heart Fund said the support from the public for this, the Cayman Heart Fund’s second annual Valentine’s gala, was incredible. “We managed to raise approximately CI$20,000 which is a tremendous sum that will be put towards excellent use by the Cayman Heart Fund, raising awareness and trying to prevent heart disease within Cayman’s society.”
Soto was especially grateful to all the talented artists who all donated their unique paintings and sculptures to the silent and live auctions: “Our thanks go to Bendel Hydes, David Bridgeman, John Broad, John Doak, Chris Mann, CE Whitney, Charles Long, Chris Christian, Gordon Solomon, Maureen Lazarus, Nickola McCoy, Teresa Grimes, Avril Ward, Guy Harvey, Suladda, Joanne Sibley, Jasmine Russo and Al Ebanks. Most artists attended our gala evening and we are truly grateful for all their support.”
“In particular,” Soto added, “we were all very impressed by John Broad’s wonderful painting that he created during the event. The lively painting depicted the talented Vivendi artistes who performed live as well as lots of vignettes from the event. John Wood eventually made the highest bid for the painting and then kindly donated it straight back to the Cayman Heart Fund! In the end the painting was purchased by David Phipps. Mr. Phipps took home a really special souvenir of the event.”
The Cayman Heart Fund is a non-profit, non-government organisation dedicated to the reduction of heart and circulatory disease in the Cayman Islands. Heart and circulatory disease, known as cardiovascular disease (CVD), is the biggest health problem in the Cayman Islands.
‘Mountains’ of e-waste threaten developing world
(BBC): Urgent action is needed to tackle the "mountains" of e-waste building up in developing nations, says a UN report. Huge amounts of old computers and discarded electronic goods are piling up in countries such as China, India and some Africa nations, it said. India could see a 500% rise in the number of old computers dumped by 2020, found the survey of 11 nations. Unless dealt with properly the waste could cause environmental damage and threaten public health, it said. The report gathered information about current levels of e-waste in 11 nations and also looked at how those totals might grow in the next decade. Globally, e-waste is growing at a rate of about 40 million tonnes per year.