Kumey Bourne was yesterday sentenced to 20 years in prison for fatally beating his elderly father, Rickford Bourne, with an iron bar.
His sentence was handed down following a decision by the accused to plead to the lesser count of manslaughter.
The 39-year-old father of two, had been charged with murdering his father on May 23, 2016 and had appeared before Justice Navindra Singh at the High Court on Monday.
However, before Bourne pleaded guilty to man-slaughter, the court heard from State Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh, who noted that the elderly man had died as a result of haemorrhaging in the brain, caused by blunt trauma to the head.
Dr. Singh was also asked by the judge whether he believes that the iron bar which had been admitted as evidence on Tuesday as the suspected murder weapon, could have caused the said injuries, to which the pathologist said yes.
Also testifying was Detective Corporal Corwin Osborne, who had witnessed the caution statement taken from Bourne, in which he admitted to beating his father with the iron bar.
He noted too, that when the allegation of murder was put to Bourne, the man said, “my father came home from work, he walked past me…I was watching TV and I tek the iron pipe and lash he.”
Meanwhile, when instructed by the judge to lead his defence, Bourne opted to remain silent; the defence also declined to call any witnesses and to offer any closing arguments.
However, not long after the court adjourned to later facilitate summation of the trial, the jurors were asked to return to their seats in the jury box, as the accused declared his intention to plead to the lesser count of manslaughter.
Having returned to the courtroom, defence attorney Maxwell McKay, offered a plea of mitigation, in which he asked the court to consider the fact that Bourne had never denied his actions and that he had offered assistance in transporting his father to the hospital.
The accused, when asked if he wished to address the court, simply said, “I realized certain things happened and I gon try to be a better person.”
Meanwhile, State Counsel Tuanna Hardy, in her address, asked the court to impose a sentence that would reflect the seriousness of the crime and the fact that a life was lost.
Having heard what both sides had to say, Justice Singh sentenced Bourne to 20 years in prison, with the three years spent in custody being deducted from the sentence.
In explaining the verdict, the judge said he took into consideration the fact that the accused never denied inflicting injury on his father and the accused showed remorse.
Notwithstanding, Justice Singh urged Bourne to take advantage of anger management classes while in prison.
