59-year-old Elbert Edwards of Marigot who resided in Woodford Hill, has been formally charged for the January 7, 2021, murder of his common law partner, 86-year-old Bernadette Nicholas of Grandbay, who resided at Woodford Hill.
According to a police report, on the night aforementioned, about 8:15 p.m., Nicholas was found lying in a pool of blood with multiple stab wounds to her body at the couple’s place of residence.
At the court hearing today, attorney for the accused, Tiyani Behanzin, pleaded with the court to defer the reading of the charge as he requested a hospital order for his client.
According to the former magistrate, Edwards had a long history of mental health issues and on the day of the alleged incidents, he was suffering from a withdrawal.
However, Police Prosecutor Inspector Davidson Cadette raised some reservation over the application due to the fact that, “the attorney did not present an authentic document to the court,” over Edwards’ said illness.
Following arguments from both parties, presiding Magistrate Michael Laudat stated that before any order can be made, the court must be satisfied that there is enough capacity at the Acute Psychiatric Unit (APU) to house the accused.
He further informed Behanzin that the deferment of a plea on indictable matters cannot be granted at the Magistrate Court as the accused is not required to answer to the charge at that stage, only at the High Court.
The charge was read to Edwards and the matter was adjourned to January 18, 2021, as Magistrate Laudat issued a summon for the Superintendent of the Dominica Prisons Services, Kenrick Jean Jacques to determine if the accused can receive treatment at the prison and the Consultant Psychiatrist at the APU, Dr Nadia Wallace as to their housing conditions.
Additionally, citing from the new Bail Act, Magistrate Laudat did not grant bail to the accused as he stated, “the court has to ensure that every decision taken must be done in the public’s interest and it is not in the public’s interest to grant bail to the accused.”
Edwards is now remanded in custody.
Did this woman have family? Did her family not know of the relationship with a much younger, mentally ill individual? What steps were taken to discourage the relationship? What treatment was sought for the mentally ill? We cannot be surprised at the results. Mental illness means he is not thinking rationally. This is a tragedy on many fronts. Years we have been asking for intervention by the appropriate authorities to ensure that individuals with known mental illnesses are treated if allowed to roam society. He should have been under treatment and not ‘withdrawing’ because he may have stopped taking his medication or ran out of medication. Either way, he should have been under closer observation. In the meantime, can we fix some of these issues to avoid repetition?
Boy, you maddddd!!!!!!!
Hang him by his balls. They always crying mental illness.
Well he has to be mentally ill to choose a woman who was 27 years older than to house with–what a sad situation!
I question the fact that the mentally ill are those who commit such gruesome crimes? What is driving them to do those awful things?
I think such persons should be described as demon possessed persons. Satan is a “spirit person” and he is using the physical individuals to do his work of stealing, destroying, and killing those who won’t walk with him.
God’s Word tell us the evil spirit persons were hurting themselves, but today they are hurting other people to the point of murdering them.
People of Dominica please pray that God will bless you with a mind which is “spiritually discerned|” according to the ways of Love, which is quite different from this World of evil, discord & disdain.
People, you need to walk in the spirit; the walk by which God’s Holy Spirit will be guiding you away from the darkness and pit of death.
This one is so heart-wrenching. The elderly lady suffered a most painful and vicious death to be stabbed multiple times. The perpetrator may be found innocent due to reasons of insanity as he has a long history with mental issues.
Our social welfare and medical institutions, with the help of family members, have to work together to put better measures in place to deal with the elderly, those with mental illness, substance abusers, the infirm and those who are at the bottom rung of society.