Murder of Professor’s wife:

THE Court’s outrage at the senseless taking of human life was yesterday reflected in the 28-year prison sentence handed down to convicted teenaged murderer Leroy Andrews.

Andrews, of Lopinot Road, Arouca, whose sentence came up for review before Justice Anthony Carmona for the 1991 murder of Radiologist Marion Narinesingh, was yesterday deemed a risk to society. His sentence starts from the date of his conviction in 1993.

Andrews was 16 years old when he was convicted of murder and was sentenced to be detained at the State’s pleasure by Justice Lennox Deyalsingh.

However, that sentence was quashed by Madame Justice Mira Dean-Armourer on February 4, 2004 and he was sentenced to be detained at the Court’s pleasure with periodical sentence reviews.

According to Carmona, Narinesingh was fully entitled to the protection of the law and by Andrews’ senseless act, he was to be held solely responsible for the demise of a human life.

“She was kind to you. You were the subject of kindness and assistance. You must be punished so others could be deterred from taking human life and for what you have done,” Carmona told the convicted man.

While he had considered Andrews’ academic potential, clean record and the fact that he had been incarcerated for 14 years, Carmona said the court could not become complacent in the sentencing regime. He said society expected the court to deal with crimes of that nature, and in its view, Andrews’ was not yet ready to be re-integrated into society.

Carmona described the offence as “cruel and cold,” adding that the only mitigating factor was Andrews’ age at the time of the murder.

In outlining the chain of events leading up to Narinesingh’s murder, Carmona said Andrews went to her home knowing she was alone. He asked her to pick some mangoes and she gave him a bag and asked him to pick some for her too.

She later took four mangoes from him and as she turned and went inside the house, he entered behind her, choked her with his hands and then with a vacuum cleaner cord until she was unconscious.

He then took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed her twice in the neck before pouring boiling water on her. He then placed a mattress on her, placed a gas tank on the mattress and set it ablaze. Narinesingh’s charred remains were found in a fetal position. A post-mortem report revealed she died of shock and haemorrhage from the injuries.

Andrews’ sentence will again be reviewed on a date to be fixed in October, 2008.