Allan Sim was yesterday afternoon sentenced to 60 years behind bars after a jury found him guilty of the murder of his former partner—hospital ambulance dispatcher Melissa Skeete whom he stabbed on November 23rd, 2015.
Following the verdict, Justice Navindra Singh told Sim he found him to be “very cold-blooded” and could find little mitigation in his favour especially since he expressed no remorse at all for his actions.
The judge pointed out that even though two of Melissa’s four children were also his, it seemed to have had no effect on him for having killed their mother; even as he noted that all the children have to go on without her.
The judge told a worried-looking Sim that after deducting time spent on remand awaiting trial, he was being sentenced to 60 years in jail and would become eligible for parole only after serving 40 years.
In a victim impact statement, the woman’s 17-year-old son Jaden Mitchell spoke tearfully of himself and siblings still mourning the loss of their mother and missing her dearly. The teen said he particularly feels for his youngest sister, now eight years old, who he said barely knew their mother.
When given a chance to address the court, Sim declined.
In her address to the court, Prosecutor Tuanna Hardy had asked the court to impose a sentence that would reflect the nature and gravity of the offence committed and that it be one which would deter potential offenders.
Citing the prevalence of domestic violence, she said that women must be allowed to move on with their lives and that men must learn to just walk away.
The 12-member mixed jury returned with its unanimous verdict convicting Sim, just over three hours after retiring to deliberate.
Police investigators had testified that Sim had said that he stabbed the woman after she first attacked him.
The defence had, however, vehemently denied this, holding that Sim at all material times remained silent when questioned about the murder.
Inspector Salish Roopnarine and Detective Inspector Suraj Singh had told the court that during investigations the allegation was put to Sim and he revealed that he had stabbed Skeete, while noting that she had started a relationship with someone else.
The court had heard from the investigators of Sim revealing that on the day in question he went to Skeete’s place of work and picked her up and that while in his vehicle an argument ensued about the man with whom she was living at that time.
The lawmen told the court that Sim related to them that during the argument Skeete stabbed him and he in turn stabbed her.
Mitchell had testified that the day before his mother was killed Sim had visited their home and had broken a window, threatening to kill his mother and stating that if he could not get her, then he would go after her children.
Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh had said that Skeete died of perforation of the lung due to a stab wound to the chest. He surmised that she had to have been stabbed with a sharp, pointed object of at least 14 inches.
Skeete, an ambulance dispatcher attached to the Georgetown Public Hospital was 31 years old at the time of her death. She was stabbed and tossed from Sim’s car onto a city street bleeding profusely from the wounds inflicted.
Sim was represented by defence attorney Adrian Thompson.
