EX-PRISON warden Sheldon Prince, was, on Tuesday, sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 30 years, for the “gruesome premeditated” murder of his wife, Lonnette Nicholson-Prince.

On February 14, Prince called “Warder” first appeared before Justice Kissoon at the Berbice High Court for the capital offence of murder.

He admitted that, on December 28, 2016, in the county of Berbice, he murdered his wife.

The State was represented by prosecutor Abigail Gibbs, while attorney-at-law, Mursuline Bacchus, S.C, was on record for Prince.

During a sentencing hearing on Tuesday, a probation officer told the court that, from an early age, Prince witnessed the abuse which was perpetuated by his father against his mother which caused them to eventually separate.

Prince and his siblings were placed in the care of their grandmother, who attempted to fill the void and provide them with much-needed love and care.

Prince said that after his parents separated, he began suffering from “depression” and other mental health challenges. However, this was never shared with his parents or other family members.

As such, he was unable to obtain the necessary treatment for his medical condition, which might have caused him to be unable to concentrate and engage in meaningful dialogue with family members and peers during his early adolescent years.

The court was told that Prince seemingly lacked the father/son bond at a critical juncture of his life and as such he might have been unable to develop critical skills during this period.

The separation from his parents negatively impacted all areas of his life, to the extent that Prince reportedly developed mental health challenges for which medical treatment was never sought.

Additionally, the separation forced him to exit the school system at an early age. Nevertheless, he was able to continue his academic pursuits at a higher level.

Consequently, he was able to financially provide for himself and assist his maternal grandmother. The court was told that his older siblings had to provide for their own families.

As it relates to the relationship Prince shared with the victim, the probation officer said it was once filled with abuse, coupled with allegations of infidelity.

“These may have caused the deceased to seek the intervention of the court to obtain a Protection Order against the accused,” the probation officer said.

He indicated that “initially their relationship was one filled with love, understanding, co-operation and mutual respect for each other, as they shared and spent quality time together.”

However, before his incarceration in 2016, he had observed that “the latter years of their marriage were filled with turmoil, as his late wife was intimately involved with other men and had developed a promiscuous lifestyle.”

Consequently, he found it extremely difficult to cope. He had remained silent to avoid any unsavory circumstances. He was away from his home for an indefinite period because of work commitments with the Guyana Prison Service.

In his probation report, Prince said that the victim’s family was not supportive of their marriage and often caused conflict.

Additionally, Prince indicated that, after their separation, his wife and her relatives denied him reasonable access to his daughter despite his constant pleas.

In his probation report, Prince said that they reportedly became hostile towards him and also refused to speak with him on the telephone. As such, he became frustrated and disgusted with the situation.

According to the victim’s parents, during the couple’s marriage, their daughter had indicated to them, as well as her siblings, that she was being abused by Prince which resulted in her successfully obtaining a five-year protection order on November 5, 2016.

Additionally, the parents of the victim were also of the view that, “the accused was lazy, rather than an asset to their daughter.”

The couple’s nine-year-old daughter was interviewed for the report. According to the probation officer, the child said that she cries whenever she thinks of her mother; especially at nights when she goes to bed or watches cartoons.

“She recalled that sometimes even though her mother was tired, she still found the time to tell bedtime stories before she slept, as well as she took her to school parties, educational tours and they periodically visited family members,” the probation officer told the court.

According to the child, her father told her that “he was going away and she would not be seeing him back for a long time.”

In his sentencing remarks, Justice Kissoon told Prince that “in a deliberate and unprovoked act of brutality and violence” he launched a ruthless and violent attack on his wife.

According to the High Court Judge, Prince’s actions on that day demonstrated scant regard for the sanctity of life.

“Domestic violence continues to reign prevalently and rampages unchecked at every strata of our society, leaving in its wake a trail of cruel, harsh consequences outwardly ranging from permanent disfigurement and mutilation to horrific killings and mayhem,” the judge said.

“All are affected. The lives and future of young and old, father, mother, child and families are consumed and destroyed forever,” he added.

According to the judge, intimate partners and spouses alike are subjected to an unparalleled wave of abject cruelty and brutality and are made to suffer in silence.

He said that the rising cases of domestic violence that are currently plaguing society is a “hidden pandemic” where intimate partners and children are made to endure seemingly inescapable prolonged suffering to physical violence and cruelty where escape has often had fatal consequences to the victim.

Justice Kissoon said that the victim, who was 23, attempted to escape the “cycle of violence” and had even secured a restraining order to preserve the safety and sanctity of her life, which Prince inhumanely ended.

In arriving at an appropriate sentence, Justice Kissoon, considered the aggravating and mitigating factors.

He was keen to point out that the mitigating aspects cannot take away from the gravity of the offence committed and no credit will be given to him for his plea.

The judge described Prince’s actions as “cruel and inhumane” before he imposed the life sentence. Prince becomes eligible for parole after serving 30 years in prison during which time he is expected to undergo counselling for anger management.

According to reports, on the day in question, Lonnette had just arrived for duty at the National Psychiatric Hospital when Prince visited and asked to speak with her. However, she refused.

As she was walking away, Prince pulled out a knife and stabbed her 15 times about the body in the presence of co-workers. He then made good his escape but later turned himself over to the police.

A post-mortem on the woman’s body revealed that she died of shock and haemorrhage, due to multiple stab wounds to the heart and other parts of the body.