It took a nine-member mixed jury 2 hours and 18 minutes to return a unanimous verdict of “guilty of murder” on Glentiste Baptiste.
Baptiste is accused of murdering his uncle Parmer Phillip Blesuget between December 21, 2018, and January 3, 2019.
In his summation to the jury, Justice Richard Floyd told them that the evidence of the prosecution is “circumstantial” and that they must treat it “carefully.”
“If you have doubts you have to find him not guilty of the crime of murder, however, if you are sure that the prosecution has satisfied you with all the ingredients then you find him guilty of murder,” the Judge said.
He further told the jury that they were to consider the act for which he is charged and consider if because of that act he is charged for causing the death of the deceased.
On the much talked about report from Cuban pathologist, Idelmys Alarcon which the defense contends was “filled with inconsistencies” he advised that if they accepted it and the trauma caused to the head of the deceased then they might very well conclude that “he caused the death of the deceased.”
“There must be a link between his actions and the death of the deceased…consider all of the evidence,” the Judge stated.
On the issue of the expert report from Dr. Irving Pascal, he called on them to “balance that report with that of the pathologist.”
“Use your good common sense…consider all that the accused (Baptiste) did and what he did not do so you can decide, again use your common sense, all of the evidence is for you to decide and you will determine what you accept and do not accept,” Judge Floyd remarked.
He also called on them to “weigh the evidence of the experts Dr. Alarcon and Pascal and decide what weight they place on it and what they accept. Justice Floyd also reminded them that under cross-examination, Dr. Alarcon the pathologist stated that she “destroyed her notes from the autopsy”.
“Be very cautious when you are considering the evidence of Dr. Alarcon remember she said that she “destroyed the notes from the autopsy” and the defense says it was critical to their defense.
Justice Floyd also reminded the jury that the accused had told the police that he was threatened and “fearful for his life so he struck him on his side.” “According to Baptiste, his uncle told him that he was going to his home to come back, he agreed that he struck him, but it was done in self-defense,” the Judge stated. He then went on to explain to the jury the law as it relates to self-defense.
He also told them that they were also to consider the issue of “provocation” since the cause claimed he was “provoked.” At that point, he also went into detail and explained to the jury the law as it relates to provocation.
“He does not have to prove that he was provoked, it is for the prosecution to so do, remember, he maintains that he was threatened and so he struck him with the stone on his side,” the Judge stated.
The third defense he told the jury that they were to consider was “accident” and that if they find that it was an accident then the accused had nothing to prove and so he should be found not guilty.
“He maintains that he was defending himself was a perceived threat, if you find that the wound was inflicted accidentally then you are to find him not guilty.”
He also called on them to consider the evidence of each witness separately and that there were no requirements for corroboration.
“He has denied the allegation of murder, but raised the defense of self-defense, he also is of good character never been in problems before you are to take that into account, but the good character in itself is not a defense,” he said.
After the guilty verdict, Sherma Dalrymple Director of Public Prosecutions (acting) said she was “not surprised at the verdict of the jury.”
“The evidence in the State’s case was overwhelming against the accused…we did our work, the officers did a thorough investigation and they withstood cross-examination and the prosecution carried the matter in proving the case against the accused,” she said.
She praised her prosecution team of State attorney Daina Matthew and Marie Louis Pierre Louis who she said worked “diligently” on the matter.
On the issue of the evidence of Dr. Pascal, she was of the view that they were fully able to counteract the evidence of Dr. Pascal who “had not seen the patient is not a pathologist, and did not do the autopsy.
Defense lawyer David Bruney said he was “surprised at the verdict”. “The issue of the cause of death, we have a pathologist who comes to court and admits that she destroyed the notes…it means the jury entered the jury room without any written documentation from the pathologist and the destruction of the notes places a huge cloud over the contents of the autopsy report,” he said.
“The defense was never able to test the notes of the autopsy, it’s a strange decision, she was a fragile witness but the jury has spoken, there was ample self-defense and provocation and even for manslaughter verdict at the very least, the verdict is against the weight of the evidence but remember it’s a jury of your peers,” Bruney stated.
Justice Floyd has set April 21, 2023, for sentencing after a social inquiry and psychiatrist report, and submissions from the prosecution and the defense.