Two charged in ‘Slickianna’ murder case get new court dates
Published:Monday | September 25, 2023 | 12:05 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The two men charged in the Aneka ‘Slickianna’ Townsend murder case were last Thursday given new dates to appear in court.
Rohan Rose, the security guard charged with misprision of a felony regarding the 2022 murder, will have to wait until next March for his matter to be tried in the St James Circuit Court.
Rose, who was expected to start his trial on Thursday, had his bail extended.
During Thursday’s brief sitting, the matter was put off as the witnesses for the prosecution had not been advised to attend court. It was also disclosed that none of the potential jurors had been summoned to be empanelled.
“The matter is set for March 19, come back then. The investigating officer is bound over,” presiding High Court Justice Judith Pusey told Rose.
Rose’s misprision charge stemmed from his allegedly having failed to inform the authorities, despite knowing that a felony had been committed. Rose was reportedly told about Townsend’s killing by Rushawn Patterson, the man charged with her murder.
CAUSE OF DEATH
Townsend’s body was retrieved from the sea off the Reading coastline in St James on October 21, 2022. A post-mortem concluded that she had been strangled.
Meanwhile, Patterson is expected to attend his next court hearing in the St James Circuit Court on October 4 in person, following an application from his attorney on Thursday.
Patterson’s lawyer, Dionne Meyler-Barrett, made the application before Pusey after it was revealed that her client had not been brought to court from the Half-Way Tree Police Station lock-up, where he is currently in custody.
“I am humbly asking you to make an order that he [Patterson] should be brought to court on October 4. My client is of the view that St James refuses to send for him,” Meyler-Barrett said.
It is also understood that Patterson was not able to join Thursday’s proceedings online, as there were no available spaces to facilitate his participation online on his end.