RAYMOND O’Selmon was, on Thursday, sentenced to 10 years in prison for fatally stabbing 34-year-old Nadina Kalamadeen, who he had stalked for months after she refused his advances.
O’Selmon, 54, formerly of North Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was sentenced by Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Demerara High Court.

He was indicted for the capital offence of murder but opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter, which read that on February 27, 2019, at Sophia, Greater Georgetown, he killed Kalamadeen.

During the sentencing hearing, O’Selmon’s lawyer, Teriq Mohammed, pleaded with the court to show mercy. He said that his client had admitted guilt at the earliest opportunity, thus saving valuable judicial time, and he later clarified that there was never an intimate relationship between O’Selmon and Kalamadeen.

When asked by the judge if he had anything to say, O’Selmon who appeared via Zoom from the Mazaruni Prison, said: “Sorry for whatever took place between me and Nadina. I can’t remember what happened between me and her.”

Meanwhile, state prosecutor Mikel Puran urged the judge to impose a sentence that would serve as a deterrent to potential offenders. He highlighted the alarming prevalence of violence against women in Guyana and described Kalamadeen’s death as an “unjustifiable loss of life.”

Taking into account the confessed killer’s genuine remorse and the ongoing psychological impact on the victim’s family, Justice Sewnarine-Beharry calculated an appropriate sentence for O’Selmon.

She also took into consideration that O’Selmon had a criminal history, including a previous 15-year sentence for carnally knowing a 12-year-old girl in 1990 and a fine for discharging a loaded firearm in 2011.

The judge started with a base of 21 years, then deducted one-third (seven years) for his early guilty plea. Further, four years were subtracted for mitigating factors, ultimately resulting in a 10-year prison term.

Kalamadeen, a mother of five, was reportedly stabbed multiple times about the body by her attacker.

That incident, which occurred in North Sophia, was witnessed by her two young children. Relatives and eyewitnesses had told this newspaper that the man had been trying to get the woman’s attention for some time now, but on each occasion, he received the ‘cold shoulder’.

On February 27, 2019, he showed up at Kalamadeen’s home, calling for her but she was sleeping, and a relative refused to wake her up.

O’Selmon subsequently returned to her home and managed to get the woman out of the house, and they were seen walking on the road together. Kalamadeen was walking in front while the man was walking behind her. He was seen inflicting stab wounds to the woman’s back while she was walking.

Kalamadeen was later pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).