Judge wants brothers’ murder case tried within two years
Published:Thursday | October 13, 2022 | 12:08 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter
The St Mary brothers accused of killing four people, including a Chinese couple, in separate incidents are scheduled to return to the Home Circuit Court on November 24 for a plea and case-management hearing.
The date was scheduled yesterday when Nigel Walters, alias ‘Troy’, and Nicholas Walters appeared in court via video link and were further remanded.
The defendants are facing four counts of murder in two separate incidents in St Elizabeth and Westmoreland.
In the first case, Chinese business operators Shiyun Shu, 53, and Haikong Wan, 48, were shot and killed during a robbery at their supermarket in Bellevue, St Elizabeth.
Three gunmen were reportedly caught on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage posing as customers in the supermarket before the deadly attack.
Following investigations, the brothers were arrested and charged.
The second incident involves 45-year-old businesswoman Sophia Brown and her customer, 58-year-old farmer Bernie Lewis, both of Long Hill district in Whitehouse, Westmoreland.
Brown was at her wholesale on January 12 when the brothers allegedly entered, posing as customers. Both women were reportedly assisting the men when they were shot and killed.
Yesterday, when the case was mentioned, the court was informed that the arresting officer’s statements were outstanding.
Consequently, a plea and case-management hearing was scheduled for the prosecution to complete the file as well as disclosure to the defence.
Justice Vinette Graham-Allen, in the meantime, has urged the prosecution to ensure that the case is ready.
“Everything must be ready for the case to be tried. Come December 2022, it will be one year now, and we want to ensure that this trial takes place within … two years,” she said.
Attorney-at-law Denise Walker appears for Nigel, and senior counsel C.J. Mitchell and Kerry-Ann Wilson represent Nicholas.