‘Wicked and cruel’

Likening the murder of Portland businesswoman Tonia McDonald by her husband and an accomplice to that of an animal being butchered, Justice Chester Stamp yesterday said the case was among “the worst of the worst”, for which there could be no other penalty than life imprisonment.

“There was a deliberateness that could only be described as wicked and cruel in the stabbing of this woman several times in her neck and chest and the cutting of her throat like an animal taken off to slaughter,” the judge said while adding that the offence involved a high degree of brutality and cruelty.

Stamp further highlighted that the victim’s body was then set on fire “as if she wasn’t dead by then”.

“The murder involved a prolonged degree of suffering as this young woman fought for her life, breaking back the seat of her car, kicking out the windscreen of the car, screaming for her mother,” he added during the sentencing hearing in the Home Circuit Court yesterday.

Businessman Everton ‘Beachy Stout’ McDonald, 69, who looked on with a fierce scowl, and the killer, Oscar Barnes, 33, whose face carried a smirk, were both given life sentences with 28 years and 11 month pre-parole prison terms for the murder.

McDonald was also sentenced to four years and six months for conspiracy while the Barnes – a St Mary tiler, fisher and farmer – was sentenced to six years and six months for the same charge. Both sentences are to run concurrently.

The judge, who also described the murder as extremely heinous and brutal, said it had features such as “deliberate killing, murder for payment and the premeditated planning by the conspirators which made it one of the “worst of the worst” cases.

In arriving at the pre-parole sentence, the judge pointed to the aggravating features he had mentioned earlier which he said pushed the crime into the “worst of the worst” category.

For the mitigating factors, he noted Barnes’ good antecedents and community report, as well as the two years and one month time that he had served in prison, while for McDonald, he pointed to his good antecedents, noting that he had no previous conviction and was a man who would contribute financially to the development of the Portland community and would help the less fortunate. At the same time, he said the community report was not so positive.

Describing McDonald as the author and instigator of the crime, the judge used a starting point of 35 years for the businessman and a starting point of 34 years for Barnes.

Prior to the sentence being handed down, while noting that the judge’s hands were tied given his client’s age and the statutory minimum, Christopher Townsend, during his plea-in mitigation, described the situation as challenging for his client, McDonald, who he said will be far beyond his three scores and 10, regardless of “whichever way the sword falls”.

“Wherever you are in your mind means that he will be spending the rest of his life in prison,” he said to the judge.

Townsend, however, asked the judge to bear in mind that his client had no previous conviction and was a businessman for most of his life and had contributed significantly to his community.

Counsel Earnest Davis, for his part, while reminding the judge that Barnes was not the instigator, said his client was capable of being rehabilitated and was a married father of three who could still make something of his life.

Noting Barnes’ previous praedial larceny conviction, Davis, however, asked the judge to disregard the conviction and to treat his client as an individual who had a good record before this case.

He argued that praedial larceny, though it is an offence that includes dishonesty, does not involve violence and is a common thing in the country.

Davis also asked the judge to credit Barnes for his cooperation with the police and to take into account the report from the community members who were shocked that he was charged and their belief in his innocence, as well as the report that they would welcome him back into the community.

The 32-year-old woman’s partially burnt body was found on a deserted road in Sherwood Forest in Portland in July 2020.

A contract killer, Denvalyn Minott, who is serving 19 years in prison for his role in her murder, had testified that McDonald hired him to kill his wife for $3 million, but that he passed on the work to Barnes.

UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS

Minott testified that he and Barnes made about four unsuccessful trips to Tonia’s house to kill her before he lured her to the area where she was murdered, under the pretence that he had secured two guns that she was seeking to purchase.

The court heard that Tonia had wanted to purchase a gun to avenge her father’s death and that her husband introduced her to Minott for his assistance.

The court further heard, during conversations between McDonald and Minott, which he had secretly recorded, that the businessman later advised his wife to purchase two guns and had given her $500,000.

According to Minott, the plan to purchase the guns was a ruse used by McDonald for Minott to get close to his wife.

However, Barnes’ lawyers have suggested that he was not involved in the plot and that it was Minott’s son, who the police had initially arrested but later released without charge.

Minott, in the secretly recorded conversation, had said repeatedly that his son was involved in the plot and went with him and a taxi driver on one occasion to Tonia’s house to kill her.

However, when asked about that admission, he said he only mentioned his son to protect Barnes, as McDonald wanted him to act alone.

The trial had also heard that the police had no physical evidence tying Barnes to the murder apart from Minott’s statements.

Additionally, the court also heard that Minott did not provide a description or the name of the man whom he claimed murdered Tonia.

McDonald’s lawyers, for their part, have suggested that there was no conspiracy and that he did not hire anyone to kill his wife.

They had also suggested that the voice in the secret recording was not his and that he had no discussion with Minott about killing his wife.

In the meantime, Townsend said McDonald will appeal his conviction and that the documents are already being drafted.

Attorney-at-Law Monique Scott will be leading the appeal.

Attorneys-at-law Courtney Rowe, John Jacobs, Earl Hamilton and his son, Jon-Paul, also represented McDonald along with Townsend while Vincent Wellesley also appeared for Barnes.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com