Archive for February 27th, 2010
Sabrina Schirn’s killer appeals murder conviction
(CNS): An appeal date has been set for Randy Martin, the man found guilty of murdering Sabrina Schirn while he was a serving inmate at Northward Prison. Martin killed the 21-year-old while he was working at the prison’s Wilderness Farm (which has since been closed) in East End in 2009, according to a report on News 27. Martin was tried, convicted of murdered and sentenced to mandatory life in prison by Justice Charles Quin in January of this year. The court heard how Schirn had gone to visit Martin near the prison farm on 11 March 09. Martin had evaded the guards and gone to meet her at a secluded spot, where he attacked and killed Schirn with a machete, leaving her body under a tree as he returned to the prison farm.
During the trial the court heard how Schirn’s own family had eventually found her body after the car she was driving that day was discovered by a local farmer. The police eventually linked Martin to Schirn via telephone records as well as other circumstantial and forensic evidence.
Martin’s lawyers told News 27 that the appeal has now been set down to be heard in August. During his trial Martin was represented by David Evans QC and Adam King and the lawyers have not yet stated the grounds for the appeal.
Anglin charged with murder
(CNS): Devon Jermaine Anglin (24) of West Bay hasbeen charged for the murder of four-year-old Jeremiah Barnes. Detective Chief Inspector Peter Kennett, the man leading the hunt to find the killer of Jeremiah, formally charged Anglin on Saturday afternoon, police said, and he will now appear in court on Monday morning. Anglin has been in custody since the evening of 15 February, the night that young Jeremiah was shot and killed while sitting in a car on the forecourt of Hell gas station in West Bay with his family.
“Today I can confirm that Devon Jermaine Anglin, aged 24 years, from the West Bay area, has been formally charged with Jeremiah’s murder. He will appear before magistrates on Monday, 1 March 2010,” said David Baines, Commissioner of the RCIPS. “While it is satisfying that we have charged someone in relation to Jeremiah’s death, we are acutely aware that this will be of little comfort to this little boy’s family who are burying their son today. Of course, nothing is ever going to bring this innocent child back and our thoughts are with his family at this very difficult time.”
Police have also confirmed that a second man who was also arrested on the same evening is still in custody but no charges have yet been brought.
The commissioner offered his thanks to all those people who had assisted the enquiry to date and those who he hoped in the days and weeks ahead would come forward and assist further with the ongoing enquiries.
The shooting, which shocked the community, took place at around 8pm in the evening when Jeremiah was with his mother, father and brother at the West Bay Gas station. Police said they believed two men, one armed with a firearm, emerged from behind the station and indiscriminately fired some four shots into the car. The rest of Jeremiah’s family escaped uninjured, but the four year old boy was killed.
Hedge fund tax break
(Bloomberg): US investors don’t have to report large holdings in offshore hedge funds or private-equity firms this year under disclosure rules designed to detect offshore tax evasion and money laundering, the Internal Revenue Service said. The IRS announcement followed the issuance of proposed regulations by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a Treasury agency, that effectively spare fund investors from a June 30 deadline to report offshore accounts that exceed $10,000. The IRS said it “will not apply its enforcement authority adversely in the case” where people are invested in foreign hedge funds or private-equity funds “with respect to that account for calendar year 2009 and earlier calendar years.”
Clinics close as swine flu goes into decline
(CNS): Government health officials have announced the closure of the specialist flu clinic on Mondayas a result of a steady decline in the number of swine flu cases. All indications are that in the western hemisphere the peak of the H1N1 pandemic may have passed. However, officials warned that people should still remain vigilant as recent scientific data from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates continued transmission elsewhere. Since 21 January, the vaccine has been available at HSA facilities, certain public venues and private physicians’ offices. This availability will continue at all HSA facilities and some private doctors’ offices but the speciality clinic will close.
The HSA says the country now has, after a long wait, adequate supplies of the vaccine for anyone who wants to be vaccinated to get the shot free of charge. Since the start of the pandemic, 129 cases of the H1N1 virus were confirmed in the Cayman Islands but the last case was reported on 11 January. The HSA stated that surveillance data of persons visiting its facilities indicate that flu-like illness cases during the past four weeks are largely the same as before the pandemic, with approximately 80-100 persons being seen weekly with flu-like symptoms. Most of the cases were mild and many persons were without fever.
As a result, the designated flu clinic which was set up for H1N1 cases will be closed, effective Monday 1 March. However, priority will be given to patients with flu-like symptoms at the General Practice clinic, district health centers, Faith Hospital and the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Cayman Islands Hospital. Patients are advised to report to the registration officer or nurse regarding their flu-like symptoms in order to receive priority care.
For more information on H1N1 visit www.CaymanPrepared.ky or www.hsa.ky. The Health Services Authority also offers the public direct responses to their flu queries through its flu email and message system – flu@hsa.ky. This complements the 24-hour flu hotline (926-2812) manned by HSA staff.
Pacific under tsunami threat after quake strikes Chile
(CNN): A massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake rocked Chile early Saturday, killing at least 82 people and triggering tsunami warnings for the entire Pacific basin. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said she expected the death toll to rise. "We are taking all the necessary measures at this time," she told reporters. Officials did not give any information on the number of those injured. The full extent of the damage was not yet known, although there were reports of collapsed buildings and hundreds of people in the streets. The capital of Santiago lost electricity and basic services including water and telephones. Bachelet said regional hospitals had suffered damage; some were evacuated.