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J'cans get life for grotesque murder in BVI
BY KARYL WALKER Crime/Court Desk Co-ordinator walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, October 12, 2009
TWO Jamaican men were slapped with life sentences for the grotesque murder of a Jamaican mother of two, Dorcas Rhule, in a British Virgin Islands (BVI) court last week.
Rhule was strangled before being flung off the balcony of her fourth-floor apartment.
The convicted men - Dennis Campbell, also called 'Soupy', and Andrew 'Ratty' Milton - were found guilty after a lengthy trial in the Caribbean territory.
Milton and Campbell were also sentenced to 10 years for conspiracy to murder Kerrian Ebanks, Milton's sister.
Another Jamaican, George O'Connor, is waiting to be sentenced for conspiracy to murder Ebanks.
O'Connor was convicted after it was revealed that he transported the men to and from the crime scene and knew beforehand that they had planned to kill Ebanks.
Both women, who shared an apartment in the Dix Hill community, were attacked on the evening of October 3, 2006 by Campbell and Milton, who was armed with a handgun.
High Court Judge Indra Hariprashad-Charles presided over the case which saw evidence being presented that the men had plotted to kill Ebanks because she had threatened to call the BVI immigration authorities on them after her brother threatened to kill her.
The men had visited the BVI and overstayed the time allotted to them by immigration authorities.
Milton had previously accused his sister of being a police informer and blamed her for his uncle and brother being convicted in that country for robbery.
The court heard that Milton and Campbell barged into the apartment and strangled Rhule before throwing her body four floors down to the pavement.
She landed on her head.
An autopsy revealed that Rhule was either dead or unconscious before she was thrown over the balcony. She also suffered sexual trauma.
Despite being held at gunpoint by her brother, Ebanks fled to a neighbour's house where she locked herself in and called the police.
Gloves found on the balcony had DNA belonging to Rhule and Campbell, prosecutors argued.
The Crown's case was bolstered by evidence from Rhule's neighbour, Milton's ex-girlfriend, police officers and forensic experts.
Campbell and Milton were captured by the Immediate Response Unit in an area known as Fish Bay three weeks after the crime was committed.
A handgun was taken from Campbell, who was shot in the leg during the capture.
The crime was one of a series of violent incidents and armed robberies which cast Jamaicans in a bad light and forced BVI authorities to stipulate that Jamaican nationals must obtain visas to enter that country.
The incident left Jamaicans in that jurisdiction embarrassed.
According to Horace Henry, president of the Jamaican Association in BVI, the majority of Jamaicans who live and work in the BVI are law-abiding.
"The majority of us are the good ones and the people here know it," he said. "It does make you feel embarrassed and you wish things like this never happen, but we have contributed to this country and can still hold our heads high."
There are more than 2,000 Jamaicans living in the BVI, including the director of public prosecutions, Terrence Williams - who prosecuted the case against Milton, Campbell and O'Connor - and Henry, who is the deputy chief public health inspector.
Jamaicans also serve as police officers, nurses, attorneys and construction workers. The chief surgeon at the Peebles Hospital is also Jamaican.
BY KARYL WALKER Crime/Court Desk Co-ordinator walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, October 12, 2009
TWO Jamaican men were slapped with life sentences for the grotesque murder of a Jamaican mother of two, Dorcas Rhule, in a British Virgin Islands (BVI) court last week.
Rhule was strangled before being flung off the balcony of her fourth-floor apartment.
The convicted men - Dennis Campbell, also called 'Soupy', and Andrew 'Ratty' Milton - were found guilty after a lengthy trial in the Caribbean territory.
Milton and Campbell were also sentenced to 10 years for conspiracy to murder Kerrian Ebanks, Milton's sister.
Another Jamaican, George O'Connor, is waiting to be sentenced for conspiracy to murder Ebanks.
O'Connor was convicted after it was revealed that he transported the men to and from the crime scene and knew beforehand that they had planned to kill Ebanks.
Both women, who shared an apartment in the Dix Hill community, were attacked on the evening of October 3, 2006 by Campbell and Milton, who was armed with a handgun.
High Court Judge Indra Hariprashad-Charles presided over the case which saw evidence being presented that the men had plotted to kill Ebanks because she had threatened to call the BVI immigration authorities on them after her brother threatened to kill her.
The men had visited the BVI and overstayed the time allotted to them by immigration authorities.
Milton had previously accused his sister of being a police informer and blamed her for his uncle and brother being convicted in that country for robbery.
The court heard that Milton and Campbell barged into the apartment and strangled Rhule before throwing her body four floors down to the pavement.
She landed on her head.
An autopsy revealed that Rhule was either dead or unconscious before she was thrown over the balcony. She also suffered sexual trauma.
Despite being held at gunpoint by her brother, Ebanks fled to a neighbour's house where she locked herself in and called the police.
Gloves found on the balcony had DNA belonging to Rhule and Campbell, prosecutors argued.
The Crown's case was bolstered by evidence from Rhule's neighbour, Milton's ex-girlfriend, police officers and forensic experts.
Campbell and Milton were captured by the Immediate Response Unit in an area known as Fish Bay three weeks after the crime was committed.
A handgun was taken from Campbell, who was shot in the leg during the capture.
The crime was one of a series of violent incidents and armed robberies which cast Jamaicans in a bad light and forced BVI authorities to stipulate that Jamaican nationals must obtain visas to enter that country.
The incident left Jamaicans in that jurisdiction embarrassed.
According to Horace Henry, president of the Jamaican Association in BVI, the majority of Jamaicans who live and work in the BVI are law-abiding.
"The majority of us are the good ones and the people here know it," he said. "It does make you feel embarrassed and you wish things like this never happen, but we have contributed to this country and can still hold our heads high."
There are more than 2,000 Jamaicans living in the BVI, including the director of public prosecutions, Terrence Williams - who prosecuted the case against Milton, Campbell and O'Connor - and Henry, who is the deputy chief public health inspector.
Jamaicans also serve as police officers, nurses, attorneys and construction workers. The chief surgeon at the Peebles Hospital is also Jamaican.