Shouts of “murder, murder” on the afternoon of Monday, January 21, 2019, alerted a resident of the Vauxhall Senior Citizens Village, Christ Church, that something was wrong.
When she went to investigate she discovered Martha Agatha Doyle, 69, on her bedroom floor as well as blood.
Fellow resident Sylvester Antoine Nelson, now 76, was found in the room where a knife was seen. A postmortem found 14 wounds to Doyle’s neck and abdomen and the cause of death was found to be as a result of stab wounds to the neck.
Nelson was subsequently charged with her murder.
In a virtual sitting of the No. 5 Supreme Court on Thursday, Nelson admitted before Madam Justice Pamela Beckles his guilt of non-capital murder, sparing him the death penalty.
Crown Counsel Danielle Mottley told the court that Doyle was residing at Unit 3A of the senior’s home for four years sharing a housing unit with two other women.
Nelson also lived at the facility but according to the evidence obtained by the police, he and Doyle disliked each other.
That Monday, Nelson was seen drinking liquor at a nearby shop before he returned to the compound where he was overheard saying that Doyle was a “wicked woman”.
Doyle and her female roommates were home around 4 p.m. when Nelson went over and spoke to one of the roommates through a window, after which he was observed leaving. Sometime after, however, that same roommate heard Doyle shouting for “murder, murder”. She ran to Doyle’s bedroom, saw her on the floor along with blood, as well as a knife and Nelson. She reportedly asked him: “You kill dah woman?”
He responded: “I ain’t kill nobody; shut up before you make somebody feel I kill that woman.”
According to the prosecutor, other people heard the roommate calling for someone to “call the police”.
Mottley said a security guard went to Nelson’s unit and saw him wearing a shirt with what appeared to be blood on it and a cut was also observed on one of his right fingers.
Asked what happened between him and the deceased, Nelson responded: “Wunna know what she do me. Wunna know what she do me.” He was restrained until the police and ambulance responded.
Police found him with his hands tied behind his back. A search was conducted and a black-handled knife was found in his trousers. He was arrested, told of his rights and the allegation against him. Nelson responded: “I am sorry about it. But it happened and there is nothing I can do,” the court heard.
The accused declined to give a written statement to police but when questioned he admitted that he and the deceased were not friendly. He said he had seen Doyle that day before the stabbing at her home by the door. Nelson told officers: “I went to her. I spoke to her and said it is time to behave herself. She start to ‘buse me and then the vexation come.” He said that he became angry and started to stab Doyle with a knife which he got from his home.
Mottley is prosecuting the case along with Principal Crown Counsel Krystal Delaney while attorneys-at-law Arthur Holder, Rhea Layne, Mariah Arthur and Ensley Grainger are presenting the now-convicted man.
Nelson is to reappear before Justice Beckles on Wednesday for sentencing.
