St Andrew businesswoman freed of murder
Published:Wednesday | November 4, 2020 | 3:45 PM
St Andrew businesswoman 47-year-old Karlene Spencer was today freed of murder.
Spencer was charged in relation to the death of Barrington Walton.
Allegations were that on September 28, 2016 Spencer had intervened in an altercation between the deceased and another man.
It was further alleged that during the confrontation she used a weapon to kill him at the Constant Spring Arcade.
Following the encounter, Spencer later went to the police and filed a report in which she said that the deceased had attacked her and hit her with an iron pipe.
She reported that she was forced to defend herself when he launched a second attack at her.
Three persons claiming to be eyewitnesses subsequently came forward and disputed Spencer’s account, claiming she killed the deceased in cold blood and was not under attack.
When the matter was called up today, her attorneys Peter Champagnie, Q.C and Samoi Campbell argued that the prosecution could not successfully mount a case against their client.
It was argued that of the three witnesses that were being relied on, it was revealed that one recently pleaded guilty and was sent to prison for attempting to extort money from Spencer in circumstances where he had approached her demanding $5,000.
She had made a report to the police, resulting in a sting operation in which he was charged.
In relation to the second witness, it was revealed that at the time of his claiming to witness the incident, he was an outpatient at the Bellevue Hospital and since then, had deteriorated in terms of his mental health.
For the third witness that was being relied upon, it was revealed that, in giving her report to the police, she lied about her name to avoid being arrested concerning certain illegal activities and was avoiding the police.
As a result of the submission, the prosecution indicated that the Crown could not mount a viable case against Spencer.
The case against her was therefore dismissed.
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