July trial date for St Thomas massacres
Published:Tuesday | February 16, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
THE TRIAL of 39-year-old labourer Michael McLean, who is charged with the brutal murder of six members of a family in Duhaney Pen, St Thomas, has been set for on July 7.
The trial date was set yesterday when McLean appeared in the Home Circuit Court.
McLean has been in custody since he was arrested and charged in 2006 for the murders of four children and two adults.
The case was set for trial in November 2008 but had to be put off because the lawyer who was assigned to represent McLean was absent and did not communicate with the court.
Legal aid revoked
Supreme Court judge Marjorie Cole Smith revoked the legal aid assignment and it took some time for legal representation to be settled because McLean said he wanted to get his own lawyer.
The Crown is alleging that the six deceased, who were relatives of McLean's girlfriend, were murdered between February 25 and 26, 2006. Some of the deceased were chopped to death and, in some cases, the throats were slashed.
McLean is charged with the murder of Patrice George-McCool, 28; Sean Chin Jr, nine; Lloyd Marshall George McCool, three; Jihad George McCool, seven; Jesse O'Gilvie, nine; and Terry-Ann Mohammed, 40, all of Duhaney Pen, St Thomas.