by Linda Straker
The January Assizes opened on Tuesday morning with 139 cases on the cause list. Court records reveal that 121 of these cases were traversed from the October Assizes which concluded in December 2017.
Of the 121 traversed matters, 8 of them are matters in which the accused were found guilty or pleaded guilty, and they will be sentenced on Wednesday, 17 January 2018 in the Number 2 High Court.
Among the 8 are accused
- Dave Benjamin who is charged for the 24 January 2016 murder of US national, Jessica Colker which occurred at a remote beach, just past the well-known La Sagesse beach
- Akim Frank accused of killing Canadian citizen Linnea Veinotte in 2015
- Phillip Baptiste who is facing a non-capital murder charge for killing his uncle Glen ‘Brass’ Baptiste
- Denroy Smith who was found guilty of causing the death of Paul Alexander of St Paul’s.
55 of the 139 cases are sexual related offences, including indecent assault, sexual assault, defilement of a female, attempted rape and rape.