Husband settles compensation to injured estranged wife

A 68-year-old St Philip man has avoided a custodial sentence after paying $30 000 compensation in full to his estranged wife, whom he admitted unlawfully wounding with a piece of iron.

On Friday, the No. 5 Supreme Court was informed that Keith Eric Eversley had paid the amount in full, putting an end to the case. He had been given six months to pay the restitution, failing which he would have spent 973 days in jail.

Eversley, of Oak Leaf Villa, Mangrove Plantation, St Philip, had pleaded not guilty to causing serious bodily harm with intent to maim, disfigure or disable Oshin Williams on November 11, 2021, but admitted to the lesser charge of unlawfully and maliciously wounding her.  

When the case was called, Eversley was not present in the courtroom, but Justice Pamela Beckles said: “We had told him that if he paid all of it there was no need for him to come back and this is what he has done.”  

She said that the case was now officially closed.  

Senior State Counsel Kevin Forde prosecuted the case, while defence attorney Rasheed Belgrave represented Eversley.  

Williams sustained a fractured skull with intracerebral haemorrhage and was hospitalised at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for eight days after Eversley struck her about the head and hands with a piece of metal, the court heard.

(JB)