CLIVE Knights, 33 years, used an ice-pick to puncture the heart and lungs of Bert Whyte, 44 years, claiming that he was forced to do so because Whyte had been sexually assaulting him in a car.
Knights, who was accused of committing the offence on 14th May, 2012, later told the police that, “Bert was my friend. I did not intend to kill him. I am sorry.”
Before imposing sentence, Justice Navindra Singh told the prisoner, “I can’t understand why you killed your friend.”
The jury’s unanimous verdict of guilty of murder showed that they disbelieved the story told by the accused. Knights had said that he was sleeping in a car and woke up to find that he was being sodomised by Whyte, the man he killed with an ice-pick.
Judge Singh in his summation to the jury told them that if by the evidence they came to the conclusion that the accused was protecting himself from being attacked in the manner described, causing him to hit out with the ice-pick, that would be justifiable homicide by law, and they would have to find him not guilty.
Following the jury’s verdict of guilty, the judge said that he would begin his sentence with 60 years. He stated that considering the prisoner had been incarcerated for three years, that period would be deducted from the sentence of 60 years, leaving him to serve 57 years in jail.
The prisoner will be eligible for parole after serving 30 years.
Prosecuting in the matter were Judith Mursalin and Narissa Leander. Attorney-at-law Konyo Thompson defended the accused.
The accused took the sentence calmly and when asked whether he had anything to say, he replied, “No.”

 
By George Barclay