Barbados Today

Two surgeries were performed on Anderson Busby as a result of a single stab wound that presented life-threatening injuries.

That was the evidence presented by Dr Margaret O’Shea, a general surgeon at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), when she appeared in the No. 2 Supreme Court yesterday.

Busby, 34, of No. 3 Whitehall, St Michael, is accused of unlawfully killing 16-year-old Taylor, formerly of Gills Road, St Michael, on October 13, 2012.

Dr O’Shea told the court she performed surgery on Busby on October 13, one day after he was admitted to the QEH. She said he had sustained injuries to his stomach, pancreas and kidney and had lost 3.5 litres of blood.

Dr O’Shea said after that surgery was completed he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where he was placed on a ventilator. Two days later a scan revealed another injury to his intestines and another surgery was performed to repair that injury and he was again admitted to the ICU, the doctor told the court.

She said after spending four or five days on the ICU he was eventually discharged and placed on the ward.

Busby was discharged from the QEH 11 days later.

“The injuries were serious and life-threatening and were caused by a single stab wound to the abdomen,” Dr O’Shea noted.

She said there was no record of Busby returning to the QEH for treatment after February 13, 2013.

In the closing arguments which followed, Principal Crown Counsel Alliston Seale told the court that Busby lost his temper and as a result “must accept that he overstepped the crease that day and lost control and a whole life gone”.

Seale insisted that it could not be regarded as self defence.

He also argued that there was an imbalance of power as Busby was 21 at the time, while the deceased was only 16.

Defence attorney Arthur Holder in his arguments described it as an “interesting trial”.

He told the jury that they needed to go through the evidence very carefully as they were several unanswered questions.

“Where did three extra knives come from? Where did Busby get stabbed? And what became of the other black-handled knife that one of the witnesses spoke about?” Holder asked.

He charged that all Busby did was to defend himself and ward off danger.

“What is so wrong with that?”

Justice Randall Worrell will make his summation tomorrow after which the jury is expected to deliberate.