Augustine William also known as ‘Tinati’ pleaded Guilty to Manslaughter in the Criminal High Court on Monday January 25. Williams, represented by attorney Stanley Felix, stood before Justice Kenneth Benjamin in a blue t-shirt and black jeans; his facial hair unkempt.

As the proceedings begun, Felix revealed his client’s intention to the judge, following which Deputy Director of Prosecution, Robert Innocent, proceeded to relay the facts of the case to the court.

On June 3, 2004, 29-year-old Ricardo George lived at Gadette in Dennery. George was, at the time, an outpatient of the Golden Hope Hospital after having been at the institution on four occasions.

George died at the Victoria Hospital on June 12, 2004. Pathologist Dr Stephen King performed a post mortem on the body on June 14 of that same year and concluded that the cause of death was Septic Shock with Acute Respiratory Failure and Acute Renal Failure. Dr King reported that George’s body showed evidence of multiple blunt force trauma sustained a number of days before his death. Septic Shock in George’s case means that a number of areas in the body had been traumatized and had become infected. As George’s body system weakened because of the renal failure, the infection spread into the blood and the rest of the body. When this happened, multiple body supplies failed and that is called Septic Shock. Renal Failure is when the kidneys stop working properly and they cannot clean many of the products of the body as it metabolizes. As these products accumulate they become toxic. The pathologist concluded that one possible cause of the chronic damage to the kidneys which lead to Acute Renal Failure is multiple blunt trauma which resulted in muscle breakdown and the breakdown product from the muscle damaged the kidneys. He noted that of the many injuries to the body, the injuries to the right leg of the deceased caused the breakdown of underlying muscles. Injuries sustained eight to nine days prior to the post mortem would be consistent with the injuries Dr King saw in the deceased’s body. According to Dr King, these injuries were the beginning of the sequence that caused George’s death.

Two eyewitnesses saw William give George a beating on June 3, 2004 about 1:54pm. Those witnesses claim to have seen William hitting George with a calabash whip, a wire and the flat side of a cutlass. The defendant, in his Statement Under Caution to the police, said he also beat George with a coconut broom. The witnesses stated that while William was beating George, George was naked and his feet were tied with a rope. The witnesses report seeing George receive lashes to his head, hand, feet and back and they also saw George bleeding from his back, head and feet while on the ground. One of the witnesses estimated the beating lasted for about twenty minutes and when it was over, George sustained bruises all over.

In the same Statement Under Caution, William admitted to beating George as the witnesses indicated. He also gave reason for his action. William said George was his relative. He reported that George was a ‘jombie’ who used cocaine, had broken into his house and stolen his property on three separate occasions prior to June 2, 2004. William admitted holding onto George, taking him to his (Williams’) yard and beating him twice on two occasions prior to June 2. This, William said, was to discourage George from coming into his yard. On those occasions before June 2, William said George stole from him his brand new clothes, new Nike sneakers, $800 cash, three hats, three gold chains, three Rastafari t-shirts and four pounds of ‘ganja’(cannabis).

On the first occasion, William admitted he beat George on his feet and on his back. On the last occasion, William said George was wearing a shirt he had stolen from him. William recounted the day in question and stated he left his locked house at 6:30am and returned between 1pm to 2pm to find his house wide open. He immediately went in search of the deceased and with the assistance of an individual he located George. William admitted to tying George’s hands in front of him and tying feet. William then removed the shirt George was wearing and he beat the deceased with a wire. Additionally, William admitted to beating George with a calabash whip and coconut broom on his back and feet. He further stated he saw George was bruised. He attributes this to the coconut broom. William said he beat George “so bad” because of the way George answered him. As he beat George, William was asking for the things George stole but George never replied.

Justice Benjamin ordered a pre-sentencing report to be done, with a sentence to be handed down on February 25, 2010.