Farmer to be sentenced next week for missionaries’ murders
Published:Friday | January 13, 2023 | 1:15 AM
A St Mary farmer, who confessed to killing two American missionaries in the parish in 2016, will be sentenced on January 18 in the Home Circuit Court.
Thirty-two-year-old Dwight Henry and another defendant, Andre Thomas, a 34-year-old taxi driver, were arrested and jointly charged for the murders of 48-year-old Randy Hentzel and 53-year-old Harold Nichols.
Henry, however, pleaded guilty to two counts of murder on Tuesday under a plea deal during an in-camera hearing.
On Thursday, during a case-management hearing ahead of Thomas’ trial, it was revealed by Justice Leighton Pusey that Henry will be sentenced next Wednesday.
Thomas, through his lawyer, Leroy Equiano, had indicated that he was proceeding to trial, and as a result, the indictment on which both were charged was severed and Henry’s trial was set for Thursday.
Both men were booked for trial on Monday, but when the case was called up, Henry’s attorney, Diane Jobson, indicated her client’s desire to plead guilty.
But yesterday, when Thomas reappeared in court, Equiano indicated that based on a new statement that he has received, in which Henry has given his account of the murder, he will need to take further instructions from his client and possibly statements from witnesses.
Justice Leighton Pusey, however, warned that the contents of the statement must not be publicised, in light of the upcoming jury trial.
Equiano, while agreeing with the judge’s order, noted that “there are some things that are quite surprising” in the statement.
In the meantime, Thomas was remanded until January 19. His lawyer is to update the court on whether he has completed his groundwork and is in a position to start the trial as the prosecution is ready.
According to reports, the two missionaries were found dead in Wentworth district in St Mary on April 30 and May 1, 2016.
The two were reportedly last seen alive when they left Tower Isle, St Mary, on motorcycles about 8 a.m. on April 30, 2016.
Attorney-at-law Althea Freeman is also representing Thomas, while Kerry-Ann Duhaney is representing Henry.