Drug-addicted son gets life for killing dad

A son who murdered his father in an argument over his continued marijuana use has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Making the ruling on Friday in the No. 3 Supreme Court, Justice Carlisle Greaves told Stefan Akeil Greaves, 26, that he must serve at least 17 years in prison before being eligible for release.

The Orange Hill, St James man had previously pleaded guilty to the murder of Cleophas Maynard of the same address sometime between May 20 and May 21, 2019.

The court was told by Principal State Counsel Neville Watson that Kristofferson Reid arrived at his uncle’s home around 12:45 am with a workmate and while placing crates in the patio, he heard Greaves, his cousin, saying: “Man come for he, come for he. He kill my mudda.” He thought the convicted man was playing around, but when he attempted to go into the house, Greaves, who was standing in the doorway, pushed him back. Reid could not see anything when he looked inside as the lights were off, but he could hear a sound like heavy breathing coming from the front of the house.

He also saw his cousin with a knife in his hand but ignored it and went back to securing the pallets. Greaves then helped Reid move two of the pallets, telling him: “You have to help me cause he got to go down.” Reid knew then that something was amiss, got scared and went home. He later returned and tried to see through the glass of his uncle’s kitchen door and saw Greaves using a cellphone light while appearing to clean the floor. The now-convicted man ran at him screaming: ‘I gine kill you too’. Reid said he went back home and called the police.

Maynard’s lifeless body was discovered in his living room with multiple stab wounds to his face, neck, upper chest and upper back.

In his statement to police, Greaves said that he was on his phone watching videos when his father called him, and they got into a scuffle. 

“I had a knife I used it and as he fell, I flee.”Greaves said. “When I flee I went up the road and I went and shout one of my friends. I get a phone call and call the police. As I was going further up the road the police came . . . I get in a scuffle for the knife and I happen to get the knife. I used it. After I realised what had happened, I called for help.”

The prosecutor highlighted the killer’s psychiatric report, noting that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia induced by drug use.

He submitted a 33-year starting sentence with the relevant deductions taken for his early guilty plea and the time spent on remand.

Defence attorney Simon Clarke urged the court to consider the degree of culpability, noting that the mental health issue could be reduced as long as Greaves continues his antipsychotic drug treatment and abstains from illegal drug use.

Highlighting the testimonies of character witnesses, he said all of them disclosed that Maynard “would do anything for his son” and had a strong and close relationship with Greaves. 

Clarke submitted a starting sentence of 24 years.

Apologising for his actions from the dock, Greaves said: “They say life is what you make it, and I believe in this saying because I stand here before this court with a heavy burden of regrets and remorse because, at the end of it all, I will never see my father again. This has played on my mind over and over . . . I am sincerely apologising to everyone I have caused pain and grief to through my actions. I have broken the law of the land and of God. I place myself at the mercy of the court and God.”

Calling it “a sad case indeed”, Justice Greaves pointed out that Maynard had been trying to correct his son’s path and pull him away from marijuana use. He highlighted the convicted man’s admission of starting to use cannabis at the age of 13 and his move over the years from smoking one spliff per day to ten.

“In effect, what we have is a son who is so loved by his father that he would do anything for him, but his son was so caught up in the culture of the use of marijuana and refused to get off of it even though he knew it was affecting him negatively,” said the judge. “Even when help was sought to assist him, he responded displeased, and this resulted in the death of his father at his hands. In local culture, it is recognised that the very hands that feed you and the very heart that loves you are the ones you destroy. There is a lesson there to our children as even with parents who love us all and try their best, we feel as youngsters that we know better, and in the end, the pain comes.”

Noting that the psychiatric report had outlined that the convicted man could have a real chance in society as long as he stayed clean, Justice Greaves weighed this against his probation report, which indicated that there was still a high risk that he would re-offend.

Sentencing him to life imprisonment, the judge agreed with the starting point as submitted by the prosecution and ordered that Greaves be enrolled in psychiatric and drug counselling programmes outlined by prison authorities.