Man acquitted in killing of cousin

Mark Thompson, who was accused of stabbing his cousin to death, was acquitted yesterday by a twelve-member jury, which found him not guilty of both murder and manslaughter.

The jury returned with the unanimous verdict of not guilty in both instances after the evidence of the case was handed over by Justice Dawn Gregory, who presided over the trial in the High Court.

Mark Thompson
Mark Thompson

In discharging Thompson, Justice Gregory told him that the jury’s verdict seems to say that they have arrived at the conclusion that he acted in self-defence.

Thompson, who was represented by attorney Peter Hugh, was on trial for killing Romel Williams, in January of 2008 at White Water Village, North West District.

According to the prosecution’s case, Williams, his wife and his parents were returning home from church, when they encountered Patrick Daniels, Thompson’s father in-law, fighting with Riley Dass, who is Williams’ nephew.

Williams tried to part the fight and Daniels cuffed him. As a result, Williams retaliated by cuffing Daniels, which the prosecution says caused Thompson to intervene.

It was alleged that Thompson, who had a knife in his possession, stabbed Williams in his hand. After being stabbed, Williams ran and fell, but the accused allegedly ran behind him and stabbed him in the centre of his chest before running away in the bushes.

Thompson had also admitted in his statement to the police that he stabbed Williams. “I went to talk to Romel and he start to fight with me and I fight back he.

Then the other brother bank me and me tek a knife from me right side pants pocket and fire two juk to he chest and pon he hand,” he said in the statement.

State prosecutors Renita Singh and Diana Kaulesar had made an application earlier in the trial to allow the depositions of the parents of the deceased, who were not present to testify, to be entered into evidence in the case but this application was not allowed by Justice Gregory.