The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN sentenced to 55 years in prison for murdering his 15-year-old girlfriend outside a bar in Grand Bahama in 2014 had his latest appeal attempt dismissed.

Court of Appeal Justice Sir Michael Barnett dismissed Basil Black’s application to reopen his appeal. However, Sir Michael invited the public defender’s office to approach Black to potentially assist him.

Black, 43, was sentenced to 55 years in prison in 2016 after he was convicted of murdering Alexis Smith in the early morning of March 30, 2014, outside Platinum Sports Bar in Eight Mile Rock.

During his trial, the convict admitted to being a coke dealer, but denied shooting the victim. While he acknowledged that he had an intimate relationship with the deceased and that the two lived together, he claimed he was unaware of the girl’s age.

He testified that on the day of the shooting, the girl told him she was going outside to walk after being drunk. When Ms Smith didn’t return, Black said he found the victim lying in a pool of blood on the ground.

Although the convict said that he checked the deceased for a pulse, he fled the scene when he saw a police light, saying he had drugs at the time.

The prosecution submitted that Black shot Ms Smith in a jealous rage after he saw her dancing with other men at the bar. It was also found that Black tested positive for gunshot residue on his hands and that a gun he tried to hide matched the bullets recovered from the victim’s head.