Man pleads guilty to killing lover after getting a retrial

A 60-year-old businessman, who was to be retried in connection with the beheading of his partner and mother of his child, has pleaded guilty and is to be sentenced on February 27 of next year in the Home Circuit Court.

The body of 26-year-old Nicole Heron, which had a chop wound to the face and vagina, and multiple stab wounds to the neck, was found in a septic tank at Trevor Taffe’s home in May 2012, a month after she had been reported missing.

Taffe, who remains in custody, pleaded guilty to murder yesterday when he appeared for his trial-readiness hearing before Justice Leighton Pusey.

The defendant was first convicted in July 2016 by a seven-member jury in the Home Circuit Court of murder and ordered to serve 20 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

However, he later successfully challenged his sentence and conviction, which was set aside by the Court of Appeal in 2022. The judges had also ordered a retrial in the interest of justice.

No-case submission

Taffe appealed on grounds, including that the trial judge had erred by not upholding the no-case submission and that the judge’s summation was heavily weighted towards the prosecution.

Heron, who, at the time, had a six-month-old daughter with the businessman, was last seen by her parents on April 3, 2012, heading to Taffe’s home in Havendale, St Andrew. A missing person report was subsequently filed.

Following the discovery of her body, along with the burnt remains of her clothing, a wig that she was wearing as well as her phone and an electric charger at Taffe’s home, the businessman was arrested and charged with murder.

His conviction, however, was based purely on circumstantial evidence as there was no eyewitness or forensic evidence tying him to the gruesome murder.

Among the evidence presented was that Taffe had told Heron’s sister, when she had called enquiring about her sister’s whereabouts, that she had gone to Ocho Rios to a stage show and would return soon.

The court also heard that when Heron’s sister called him afterwards, he told her that her sister would soon “pop up like peas”.

Another piece of evidence presented was that Taffe had indicated that he had reported Heron missing, but checks found that he had only reported two television sets missing from his home. The court also heard that Taffe told the police that “Daniel’s God will surely deliver me” upon his arrest after Heron’s body was found.

The businessman, however, maintained his innocence, claiming he loved the mother of his child and would never hurt her.

Taffe, in his defence, claimed that he left Heron at his home on April 5 in the company of his nephew and a worker. On his return the following day, he said he did not see any of them but discovered that his television sets were missing.

Attorney-at-law-law Leroy Equiano is representing Taffe.