Sentencing submissions again delayed in double murder case

Sentencing in a double murder case has been postponed after the court was told that a psychological assessment of the convicted man is still outstanding.

Demetrico Ricardo Layne, of Graham’s Alley, Nelson Street, St Michael, previously pleaded guilty to murdering Olivia Cecelia Carter on July 27, 2020, and Odith Nicole Henriques on August 2, 2021.

During his reappearance before Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell in the No. 4 Supreme Court, sentencing submissions were expected from State Counsel Paul Prescod and defence attorney Leslie Cargill-Straker.

However, while the court was informed that psychiatric and pre-sentencing reports were available, it heard that the psychological report remains outstanding.

Noting that the psychiatric report was extensive, Cargill-Straker told the court that her client said he has not yet seen a psychologist and requested an adjournment to allow for the assessment to be completed.

The case will continue on September 25.

Carter’s lifeless body was found on July 27, 2020, on the compound of the old Lauriston building in Collymore Rock, while the naked body of Henriques, a 44-year-old Jamaican national, was discovered in the yard of an unoccupied house at Graham’s Alley in the City on August 2, 2021.

(JB)