Murderer won’t face second trial
(CNS): One of the men convicted of the murder of Estella Scott-Roberts will not face a second trial for the robbery and abduction of the Cable and Wireless executive, the courts have confirmed. Scott-Roberts was found dead in her burnt out car in a remote spot in Barkers in October 2008. Larry Ricketts and Kirkland Henry, both Jamaican nationals, were convicted of her murder after a trial in February 2010, but the crown has stated that it will no longer pursue further charges against Ricketts after his appeal to the Privy Council for his murder conviction was denied. He will serve the rest of his life in jail and public prosecutors have said there is nothing to be gained by putting the family through another trial. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)
Both the convicted men had faced further charges relating to thecrime but these could not be tried alongside the murder as legislation at the time required cases of murder to be tried separately from any other offence.
Although Henry pleaded guilty to rape, robbery and abduction, Ricketts, his co-conspirator in the murder, denied all charges against him and had pursued an appeal against his conviction to the UK’s high court. The recent refusal by the Privy Council to hear the appeal and the upholding of the conviction allowed the public prosecutor to decide the way forward with the outstanding charges.
Speaking on behalf of the DPP’s office on Friday, crown counsel Elizabeth Lees confirmed that a number of issues had been taken into account, not least the potential trauma for the family to sit through another painful trial, and there was no public interest in trying Ricketts, who was given a life sentence. She said that this complied with the wishes of the victim’s family that were seeking closure and there would be no practical gain for justice for Ricketts to be tried and if found guilty given sentences that could only be served concurrently.
As a result, Justice Williams advised that the family should be formerly notified of the decision as he dismissed the outstanding indictment.
Category: Crime
He shouldn't even be allowed to wear that bl@sted cheap shades. I didn't know Mrs. Estella, I moved here in 06 and the news of what those b@stards did to her have been haunting me up to today.
I am still hurting with her family and loved ones.
May she rest in peace!
Estella was one of our brightest and best – wish we had more of her caliber of leadership, class and heart now
It is disgusting the level of barbarism to which some of these posters have sunk. Not only is the death penalty disgusting, it makes it harder to convict those charged with capital crimes. Cayman, with its quaint criminal justice system and ineffective juries, has no need to make it easier for criminals to get off. I am glad that the death penality issue is one firmly taken at a national level in London.
Cayman could be a leader and shining example to the rest of the world when it comes to dealing with criminality and trying to eradicate it from these shores. Bring back the death penalty. Public hanging or better yet being burned in the incinerator at the dump would be fitting justice for those who unconscionably kill others and especially in such a way as was done to our Estella. They have NO place in this society. ZERO. Please stop wasting precious time and money on rehab for such prisoners. They don't deserve even bread and water for a day much less for life.
Fantastic decision. Let him rot in jail.
The government should pay for him to go to a South American prison for the rest of his life he deserves to be in one of those prisons far way not here in Cayman being treated like a human he needs to be treated less than human because that is how he treated poor Estella. May he die far worst than the death he gave poor Estella.
May he suffer and then burn to death for the evil that he has done
Some would like for us to forget about this wouldn't they? Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere remember that DPP.
To those who did not have to stand up in the Barker's Dyke road and hold up others too weak to bare sight of this horrific and vicious crime or had to scour that entire area to gather evidence to put these two vicious men behind bars i say to you.The dead cannot cry out for justice, it is the duty of the living to do so for them. Rest in Peace E It is not a day that goes by that we don't think of you.
For those who had to fight for justice for Estella a clear slap in the face and for those who were involved and would like to see this vicious murder go way and buried a victory!
Conscience is bad thing for some is it not??????????
Pure Injustice for Estella and her memory…
I wish both these creatures a long, torturous tenure in prison, and an eternity at the hands of God's will. Rest in the arms of the Lord Estella, and may this truly aid in bringing the family some minute level of closure knowing that (legal) justice was brought to pass on those that took her life and that through the horrible nature of their loss, beneficial change was brought to these islands and women throughout.
What a pile of BS the question is one of Justice for Estella and is he guilty of this offence. What happens when the Human Rights law comes into effect where the life sentences are commuted to a period of 12 years. I would like to know which family members they consulted and how dare them!!!! Painful we past that threshold the day they raped and murdered her more like easing some peoples conscience????????
You are speaking out of ignorance. The highest Court in Cayman law, the European Court of Human Rights, has recently confirmed the legaility of whole life sentences.
Estella Scott Roberts was a well known woman. What did she do to deserve this???? NOTHING…
About LIFE in prison.
The death sentence is needed to eliminate the garbage from society.
I have a problem with the way these imported criminals have the right of appeal. We should follow the Bible and not deviate from it. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Take a page from the Far East, stone them to death.
I agree car tires should be place around their necks and set ablaze. They truly deserve to be in the Middle East. They are two scums that the world would be better off without.
Why dont the government of the Cayman Islands make an agreement with the Jamaican Authorities to send these people to General Penetary to serve their life time sentence. Like old times we would pay the Jamaican government every year for keeping them. They would have the opportunity for their families to visit them, and we would not have to be bothered with taking care of them. Send them all home. It is far cheaper. Why the Government don't do this will some one tell me.
Actually, it may surprise many of the island's Christians that the New Testament advocates "mercy" and "forgiveness" – concepts that do not exist in vengeful societies.