The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN acquitted in June of the 2009 murder of an American woman will be retried in 18 months – this time on a charge of manslaughter.

Zyndall McKinney was back in Supreme Court yesterday to fight a retrial application filed by prosecutor Ambrose Armbrister during his initial retrial, which ended two months ago when he was unanimously acquitted of the 2009 death of Anna Garrison.

However, arguments by the 25-year-old’s attorney, Murrio Ducille, did not convince Justice Roy Jones that his client should not to be retried on the lesser charge.

The retrial is now set for February 2014, which according to the court, is the earliest convenient date available.

In the meantime, Mr Ducille and his associates, Krysta Mason-Smith and Nathan Smith, plan to take the matter to the Court of Appeal in an effort to have the decision to allow the retrial overturned.

On June 6, McKinney, of Marathon Estates, was acquitted of the murder just two weeks after his ex-lover Madison Pugh was also cleared of murdering Garrison – who was Pugh’s mother.

While the all-woman jury cleared McKinney unanimously, they were hung 7-5 on the lesser charge of manslaughter, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial.

Prosecutor Ambrose Armbrister immediately asked Justice Jones for a retrial on the charge of manslaughter.

However, Mr Ducille argued that his client stood trial for murder and was acquitted of murder.

Ms Pugh and McKinney were both accused of killing Garrison, who is from the US but lived in the Bahamas.

She went missing in February 2009, only for her body to be found on Fox Hill Road on July 4 of that year.