Ex-cop, sister lose appeal against conviction in murder of taxi operator
Published:Thursday | June 18, 2020 | 12:00 AM
Ex-cop Jeffery Peart and his sister Roxanne have lost their appeal against their 2014 conviction for the murder of a taxi operator.
In December 2014, the siblings were both sentenced to life in prison for the 2012 murder of Delroy Frame.
The ex-cop was ordered to serve 35 years before he becomes eligible for parole while his sister was ordered to serve 16 years.
After four days of submissions by defence attorneys and prosecutors, the Appeal Court today upheld the convictions.
However, the panel comprising Justices Patrick Brooks, Jennifer Straw and Frank Williams decided to shave off two years from the mandatory prison time for the ex-cop to account for the time spent behind bars as he awaited trial.
This means, he will now have to serve 33 years before he may be released from prison.
The judgment was handed down by Justice Brooks via Zoom.
The appellants had challenged the DNA and ballistic evidence as well as call data records presented by the prosecution.
Jeffery Peart's attorney Gillian Burgess contended that her client was given a sentence that is usually reserved for multiple counts and that he was in custody for two years before sentencing.
The ex-cop was 26 years old at the time of sentencing.
Roxanne, who was seven months pregnant at the time, was given 18 years but this was reduced to 16 years after her attorney begged for leniency.
Frame's headless body was found in St Ann about one month after he filed a corruption charge against the then Constable Peart.
The taxi operator told the Anti-Corruption Branch that the ex-cop tried to solicit $30,000 from him following a traffic accident involving their cars.
According to the prosecution, Roxanne lured Frame from Westmoreland to St Ann where he was shot and beheaded.
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