MARCELLOS Verbeke, 25, was on Thursday sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by Justice Navindra Singh,after he pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.However, Marcellos will only spend four years in jail,having spent six years on remand awaiting trial. Before the verdict was handed down by Justice Singh,he told Verbeke that he seems to be a very soft-spoken individual who acted on impulse when he was provoked and as such, he fatally knifed his best friend in 2011 during a row.
Justice Singh added that Verbeke also appears to be intelligent and considering these factors,he gave him 10 years imprisonment for his actions.
Verbeke had stabbed his best friend, Richard “Troy” Skeete,six times with a knife during a heated argument over money. The incident occurred on June 9, 2011 at ‘C’ Field, Sophia. The matter was empanelled on Monday before Justice Singh.The state was represented by Siand Dhurjon and Tuanna Hardy,while the defence counsel was Dexter Todd.