Man gets 20 years for killing 8-y-o

A 29-year-old man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of his eight-year-old stepson.

The sentence was handed down on Dwayne Thomas in the St Catherine Circuit Court on May 14.

When Thomas appeared before Justice Courtney Daye, he was sentenced for the murder of Aaron Masters, then student of Davis Primary School in Old Harbour Glades, St Catherine.

Thomas will be eligibe for parole after serving 10 years. He also received 10 years for wounding with intent of the child’s mother.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

The judge said that Thomas, having pleaded guilty, benefited from a 30 per cent reduction on his sentence.

A psychiatric evaluation has been ordered because the accused is believed to have schizophrenia.

Thomas was represented by attorneys-at-law Vinette Grant and Sheldon Campbell.

The accused had pleaded guilty to murder of the child and the wounding with intent of its mother during a heated dispute.

The facts are that about 6:30 a.m. on November 23, 2019, Thomas and his fiancée had a disagreement.

The dispute escalated into an altercation, during which Thomas used a knife to inflict stab wounds to her.

In a fit of rage, he also attacked the eight-year-old child and rained stab wounds on the boy’s upper body. Masters succumbed to the injuries.

Meanwhile, the mother, who bled profusely, ran from the premises and was hospitalised.

The Old Harbour police took Thomas into custody and he was charged following an investigation.