Businessman convicted in Oaklands murder case loses bid to go to Privy Council
Published:Thursday | December 16, 2021 | 4:50 PM
Businessman Stephen Causwell, who killed his girlfriend inside her home at Oakland Apartments in St Andrew in 2008, has failed in his bid in the Court of Appeal to take his case to the United Kingdom-based Privy Council.
The court ruled on December 10 that the issues raised were not of exceptional public importance.
Causwell was convicted in September 2016 of killing Nadia Mitchell, his girlfriend of eight years, at her home.
Evidence was given that at the time of her death, she was in another relationship after ending her romance with Causwell.
A witness had testified that Causwell was at the apartment on the day that Mitchell was killed.
The prosecution had described his relationship with Mitchell as a case of “fatal attraction.”
The body was found in the yard of the gated complex.
The body had 27 injuries, 19 of which were inflicted before she died.
Causwell was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to serve 20 years before he can be eligible for parole.
He appealed but in November last year and the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction and sentence.
In his application for leave to go to the Privy Council, he claimed that he was deprived of his right to a fair trial due to delay, the unavailability of witnesses and potential exhibits, and the trial judge's failure to put his case adequately to the jury.
In dismissing the application, the court ruled that Causwell, 45, failed to satisfy it that any of the questions called for an interpretation of the constitutional provisions.
The court said further that the questions posed and issues raised were not of exceptional public importance “ wherein it is desirable in the public interest that a further appeal should be bought.”
Queen's Counsel Garth McBean represented Causwell while Queen's Counsel Jeremy Taylor and Crown Counsel Nicholas Edmond represented the Crown.
- Barbara Gayle
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