Diego man pleads guilty to manslaughter

A DIEGO Martin man, charged with the murder of his common-law-wife, yesterday pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter by reason of provocation. The State accepted the plea of  David Nicholas, of Crystal Stream, Diego Martin who was charged with the December 26, 2002 murder of 45-year-old Margarette Angelique Haynes. The two had been living together for two years. Haynes was last seen alive by Nicholas’ nephew Jamal on the fateful Boxing Day.  Some time later her headless and partially decomposing body was found floating in the Diego Martin river by Dexter Phillip. 

The body was clad in a black and white striped bra and was subsequently identified by her relatives by way of her jewelry and a tattoo bearing the word “Jah”.  The absence of one of her breasts, which was removed during a mastectomy, was also one of the ways in which her body was identified. A post mortem report revealed she had died of multiple sharp traumatic injuries. On January 28, 2003 sanitary officer Winston Simmons came across Haynes’ head while cleaning the river. In one of the three statements given to the police during an interview, Nicholas admitted to killing Haynes. He described his wife as an “alcoholic, drug addict and a piper,” with whom he had frequent arguments regarding her addictions.  He said she used to steal from him and prostituted herself to support her habits.

Nicholas said on the day on which she was killed she had constantly harassed him for money to buy cocaine.  She left their house and when she returned some time later they went to a friend’s home to “lime.” According to Nicholas, Haynes left the friend’s house with two men whom he did not know and he went looking for her. When he did not find her he went home. He said she came home near midnight to get a drink for a male friend, who was waiting in the car.  She left and returned about two hours later. Nicholas said they argued and as she was about to leave he held on to her T-shirt.  She pulled out a knife, which he took from her and “chooked” her in her back.  She fell and he carried her inside and placed her on the floor.

When he tried to revive her with a glass of water, Nicholas said, he realised she was dead. He took off her clothes, placed her body in a nearby drain and put her clothes in a bag for the garbage truck to take away. He said he prayed for forgiveness because he did not kill her intentionally. Some days later, Nicholas said, he returned to the drain to see her body and discovered that it was “swollen.” Nicholas was charged with the murder by Sgt Ramsubhag. A mitigation plea will be made on his behalf before Justice Anthony Carmona in the Port-of-Spain Fourth Criminal Court on February 24. He will be sentenced on February 25.