Brutal killer of mother and son loses appeal

Neil Hernandez, also called Redman, now 37, of Toco, was sentenced to death on November 29, 2004, for the May 2, 2000, murders of Christine Henry and her son Phillip. He had appealed.

According to the evidence, when the woman threatened to report his inappropriate conduct at his workplace, Hernandez had swung his blade with the intention to planasse Christine, but, instead, she was chopped three times on her head, and her son was chopped four times on his head and neck.

Appeal Court judges, Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma, and Justices Stanley John and Allan Mendonca, said the injuries to the the deceased were "quite inconsistent with a person planassing or intended to planasse.

"It was certainly open to the jury to find that whoever inflicted those injuries evinced a clear intention to kill or at least cause serious bodily injury. The attack on both Christine and Phillip was unprovoked and brutal. The injuries were indicative of nothing less than an intention to kill." However, at the trial, Hernandez denied that he did the chopping.

Arguing the appeal for the State was special prosecutor Bindra Dolsingh, while Margaret Rose had argued six grounds of appeal for the appellant. Henry and her son Phillip and two other siblings were living with Everton Williams, also called Breddo, with whom she shared a common-law relationship. Williams was the overseer at Peake’s estate at Moraldo Trace, Guayamare, Toco, which adjoined Tompire Beach.

On the day of the murder, Henry and her son went to the beach to have a bath. Hernandez, who was on top of a hill husking coconuts, saw Christine and her three children on the beach and called out to them.

He then approached them with his cutlass in hand.

Hernandez said Christine asked him if he was working, and he said "no," that he was "making a hustle."

She told him he could hustle when he was not working and she threatened to report this to her husband. A quarrel ensued between them and Henry walked off, saying she was going to tell Breddo.

It was then that he swung his cutlass at her. He also stated that when he heard her tell Phillip to call Breddo, he also swung the blade with the intention of planassing Phillip, but he was chopped instead. One of those chops split the child’s skull.

In a 15-page judgment, the court stated, "The deceased met their deaths at the hands of the appellant in a most barbaric fashion." It added, "In all the circumstances, we are satisfied that in this case there was no miscarriage of justice."