The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A SUPREME Court judge cited concern for an alleged murderer‘s safety as she denied bail to the 24-year-old man accused of killing Allison Thompson, 37, and her 14-year-old daughter, Trevonika Thompson, last year.

The man, Blake Strachan, will remain in prison until his trial date on May 12, 2025.

Strachan is accused of killing  a mother and her daughter in a building on Ross Corner sometime between April 11, 2023, and April 14, 2023. Police found the partially decomposed remains of the victims in their apartment.

 Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson concluded that Strachan was not an eligible candidate for bail, calling him a flight risk.

 “The primary reasons are the cogency of the evidence against him in this matter and also that there are no conditions available to the Court to ensure the applicant does not abscond,” she said in her judgment. “The Crown also requested that bail be denied for his own safety and due to there being nothing peculiar relative to his present circumstances.”

 She noted that Strachan was not of good character, listing previous convictions for vagrancy, stealing, armed robbery, assault with intent to commit rape and a warrant of arrest for possession of dangerous drugs and possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply.

 The convictions took place in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

  As Strachan was the boyfriend of one of the deceased and lived in the same area as the murder victim’s family, the judge considered that Strachan might interfere with witnesses.

 The Davis administration has repeatedly pushed judges to consider the danger people accused of serious crimes face when they are given bail.

 Justice Grant-Thompson noted the frequency of retaliatory killings in the country, adding that public safety is of paramount concern when considering bail applications.

 “The Court takes judicial notice of the retaliatory killings in The Bahamas and is concerned for the safety of the applicant,” she said. “The Court, therefore, remands the applicant for his own safety having regard to the current conditions which prevail in the country.

 “The Court is of the view that there are no conditions that can be implemented to ensure the applicant’s return for trial. The Court also remands the applicant for the safety of the public who may be caught in the crossfire if the applicant is released on bail.”