The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE remaining two women accused of murdering teenage mother Breanna Mackey last year will stand trial tomorrow.

Dervinique Edwards and Zaria Burrows will be tried before Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson over allegations they murdered the 19-year-old on January 25, 2018.

Burrows and Edwards, who are both represented by an attorney, remain on bail until that time.

On January 31, Burrows, Edwards, Thea Williams, Davanya Lawes and two minors were charged with Mackey’s death.

According to reports from police, shortly before 6pm on the date in question, police control room was contacted about reports that a female was stabbed about the body in the Key West Street area off Cordeaux Avenue. Police officers were dispatched to investigate.

Upon their arrival, a female who was identified as the victim’s sister, Latisha Woodside, directed officers to a brown and white apartment complex on the eastern side of Key West Street. On the porch, just in front of door number nine, officers discovered a semi-conscious female lying face down suffering from four stab wounds to the upper back and two stab wounds to the right arm.

The woman, later revealed to be Mackey, was subsequently transported to Princess Margaret Hospital where she died around 8.28pm.

Further investigations led officers to arrest Williams who, when interviewed on the matter, admitted to killing Mackey. Williams is serving 25 years for the crime in pursuance of a plea agreement her attorney reached with the Crown. She is further ordered to undergo one year of counselling, inclusive of anger management lessons, and another year of probation upon completion of her sentence.

In April, Lawes was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to causing grievous harm to Mackey as part of a plea deal.

The time Lawes has already spent on remand, a year and some four months, was ordered to be factored into her prison sentence. She is also ordered to perform community service and undergo counselling inclusive of anger management classes.

An 18-year-old woman, whose name has been withheld because she was charged as a minor, admitted her involvement in the offence in that she knew of the weapon used to kill Mackey, and that she also kicked the deceased during the fatal altercation. She pleaded not guilty to murdering Mackey, but guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

That teenager is serving 12 years in prison as part of a plea deal, non-inclusive of any further time deductions. She is also ordered to serve one year’s probation after completing her sentence.

However, another 18-year-old woman involved in the matter, whose name has been withheld because she too was charged as a minor, is now a free woman.

In August, Justice Grant-Thompson sentenced the teenager to two years in prison pursuant to a plea agreement she reached with the Crown. The sentence was ordered to run from the date of her incarceration, January 25, 2018. However, because prison terms are not calculated on a full calendar year, her time expired on May 25 of this year.

Prior to being sentenced/released, the woman, who turned 18 on August 21, pleaded not guilty to murder, but guilty to causing grievous harm to Mackey.