I am fuelled by God, woman convicted of spouse’s murder tells court

The sentencing hearing for a Kingston businesswoman who was last December convicted for the 2019 stabbing death of her ex-boyfriend failed to get under way on Monday after the woman insisted that she no longer wanted her attorney to represent her.

Normalyn Dawes, 33, a bar operator of an East Street address, was found guilty of murder by Justice Leighton Pusey following a judge-alone trial in the Home Circuit Court.

Dawes was arrested and charged following the murder of Oshane Coley, an on-the-run murder convict, who was stabbed in the neck and chest during a domestic dispute.

However, immediately after she was found guilty, Dawes indicated that she wanted another lawyer, claiming she was not given an opportunity to address the blood splatter evidence. This was among evidence highlighted by the judge, which showed that the offender had not been truthful in her statements.

Attorney-at-law Paul Gentles and Kemar Setal had represented Dawes.

When Dawes was brought before the court for sentencing on Monday, Gentles told the court that he was unable to proceed because he was advised that she had retained a new lawyer and he was not given any instructions regarding sentencing.

When asked about the situation, Dawes reminded the judge that she had explained on the last occasion that she did not want them to represent her anymore.

The judge, however, noted that the matter is at the stage where Dawes needs a lawyer to advise her before he makes a decision on her sentence.

“I can proceed without you having legal representation; however, it is best for you if you have somebody who can advise you,” the judge said while explaining that there are steps in the process which will require someone with a legal mind.

However, an emotional Dawes said, “I have legal counsel and none of them can be able to relate as to what I have been through, what I am going through, and I think I am the best person to express that to the court.”

Additionally, Dawes said that she is confident that she could peruse the relevant documents and “put forward her stance”.

The offender further told the judge that she did not see where she was guilty of murder.

Pusey, however, told her that while it is her right to object, she has to adjust her mind to the conviction and find someone who can advise about the range of sentences that she is facing.

UNRELENTING

Dawes, however, was unrelenting, trying to convince the judge that she was the best person to represent herself. She further told the judge that she had also written a letter which she wanted to give to the chief justice.

The judge, however, told her that the chief justice would not be able to intervene as only the trial judge can determine the matter. He further told her that he has a responsibility to ensure that the process is fair to her and to ensure that she has legal advice, in the event there is an appeal.

Dawes, who later agreed to allow the court to assign her a new lawyer, was remanded until Friday.

“I am not a lawyer. I am an honest person who is about living life honestly within the laws. I am fuelled by God. His laws are written in my heart,” Dawes said in a parting shot after changing her mind about whatever she had planned on saying.

Prosecutors had led evidence that Dawes, who was involved in an on-and-off relationship with Coley, murdered him at her home following a dispute.

The Crown said that the argument started on March 7, 2019, at 4 p.m. and escalated the following day.

Coley was stabbed thrice outside Dawes’ home.

After he was stabbed, Coley ran from the home and collapsed on Union Street. He was taken to Kingston Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Gentles had argued that his client had killed Coley in self-defence and that she was also provoked.

He said that based on his client’s instruction, Coley had broken into her home through a window after his attempts to breach her door failed. Coley reportedly attacked her in a fit of jealousy because of her business dealings with construction workers.

But the judge rejected the self-defence and provocation defence based on the evidence, including a trail of blood outside the home. This, he said, contradicted reports by Dawes that the incident occurred in her bedroom.

Coley had been on the run after absconding bail on a murder charge in the middle of his trial when he was killed.

Devon Harriott, Michael Jacobs, and Coley were found guilty in the Gun Court in their absence on September 28, 2017, and were to be sentenced on October 20.

The men were found guilty of killing Craig Lewis after shooting him multiple times.

The court heard that the trio were among four gunmen who invaded Lewis’ St Catherine home on the morning of December 9, 2009, and fired nearly 30 rounds, striking him 12 times.

Lewis, before succumbing to his injuries nine days later, gave police investigators a detailed statement identifying his killers.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com