Children killer loses appeal

A snow-cone/ ice-cream vendor who murdered two of his step-daughters, one a ten-year-old,  by stabbing her to death and the other, 16 months old, by fire, lost his appeal against a guilty verdict,  but the death sentence passed on him was not affirmed because the Court awaits the decision of the Privy Council in the Charles Matthews case. Matthews’ case was argued in March in the Privy Council in London,  with a view of trying to persuade the Law Lords to rescind their ruling last year that the death sentence is not mandatory. Prior to last year’s ruling, the death sentence was mandatory in most Caribbean countries. In this ruling the Law Lords also indicated that before passing sentence,  a sentencing hearing must take place.

The Court, comprising Justice Lionel Jones, Justice Rolston Nelson and Justice Stanley John, did not find favour with the five grounds of appeal filed on behalf of the convicted killer Cyrus Brathwaite, of Point Fortin.  He was found guilty of killing Nicole Sylvester, ten, and her sister Keela, 16 months old,  on August 6, 1999. Attorney Dana Seetahal argued the case for the State while Gregory Delzin and Ian Ibrahim presented Brathwaite’s appeal. Nicole and Keela lived in a one-room apartment at Cap de Ville, Point Fortin, with their mother Anita Burroughs, and three of their four other siblings. According to the facts of the case as recalled in the judgement, some 21 months prior to the killings, Burroughs and Brathwaite had a visiting relationship of man and wife. They would on occasion overnight at each other’s residence. But Burroughs had recently hinted to Brathwaite that she wanted to end their relationship.

On the date of the killing, Brathwaite had expected Burroughs to come and assist him with ice-cream vending. When she failed to turn up, he went to her apartment. He had with him two bags, one with books for the children and the other with a container of petrol and two knives.
Burroughs again indicated to him that the time had come for them to end their relationship. The smell of petrol from one of the bags reached Anita, and she felt that he was going to do something dreadful with it. He, however, promised that he had something to give her before he left. As she turned towards him, he cut her with a knife across her face and repeatedly stabbed her about the body. She screamed. Two of the children in the bedroom ran to the living room leaving Keela behind asleep. Burroughs ran to the kitchen window and exited the apartment. As Nicole attempted to follow her mother,  Brathwaite stabbed her in the chest. He then poured the petrol around the apartment and set it alight. The other children escaped from the flames. That same night Nicole died at the Point Fortin Hospital and the next morning Keela died at the San Fernando Hospital from her burns. Soon after, Brathwaite was arrested with the knives.

At his trial in December 2002  before Justice Melville Baird in San Fernando, he “painted a picture of childhood abuse by his parents. His sister also portrayed him as the Cinderella of the family.”  He testified to the events of killing the girls but emphasised that he could not recall what happened. He claimed that Burroughs had accused him of coming to burn down her apartment. She said, “If yuh kill mih yuh go end meh worries .” Brathwaite said he felt “like if ah going off... ah just start to let go gas and ah light a match and the place go up in flames.” Brathwaite’s  grounds of appeal dealt mainly with provocation, diminished responsibility and the absence of a “ Lucas” direction. They were all critical of the judge’s summation. He called as his witnesses Dr Cyril Platoo, the prison medical officer, Dr Stanley Bishop, a psychologist and Dr Celia Ramcharan , a psychiatrist. The Court of Appeal found that the criticism of the judge’s summing-up was unfair, and on another issue stated;” We are fortified in our view that the evidence of Dr Bishop was not adequate by itself to establish abnormality of the mind within section 4A.”