The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 20-year-old man who was accused of murdering his five-year-old brother just five days before Christmas was remanded to the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre for mental evaluation.

Wenzell Knowles, of Strachan’s Alley, was sent to Sandilands for 14 days after the police prosecutor made an application during Knowles’ arraignment before Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez.

Knowles appeared in Magistrate’s Court on Christmas Eve Monday facing a murder charge when it was claimed that he, on December 20, murdered 5-year-old Dequan Clarke.

On the evening in question, the child was found in a

bedroom wrapped in a sheet. He had been stabbed in his chest and his throat had been slit. Knowles was not required to enter a plea to the charge. Chief Magistrate Gomez told the silent accused that his case would be fast-tracked to the Supreme Court for trial through a Voluntary Bill of Indictment, which would be served on him on April 15, 2013.

The prosecutor asked the court to have the accused evaluated at Sandilands. The accused was remanded to the facility for 14 days.

Knowles was not the only person to be arraigned on a murder charge on Christmas Eve.

Charles Hanna Jr, 27, of Fawkes Court, was arraigned in connection with the November 22 death of Jarvell Gardiner.

Hanna was also not required to enter a plea to the charge, but before being remanded to prison without bail, he asked the court if he could speak.

When given the opportunity, he said he wanted to apologise to the government and the court for wasting their time. He also wanted to apologise to the family of the victim as he said the fatal outcome of November 22 “was not supposed to go down like that.”

Hanna returns to court on April 16, 2013 to be served with a Voluntary Bill of Indictment to fast track his case to the Supreme Court.