A 12-member jury last Tuesday found 29-year-old Randy Willings, a mason, guilty of manslaughter for the fatal 2021 stabbing of Kevin Smith, a handyman from Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

The verdict was handed down in the Demerara High Court before Justice Jo Ann Barlow.

Originally indicted for the capital offence of murder, Willings was acquitted of the murder charge but convicted of the lesser offence of manslaughter after the jury deliberated.

State Counsel Praneta Seeraj, State Counsel Rbina Christmas and State Counsel Mikel Puran represented the prosecution, while Kiswana Jefford served as Willings’s defence attorney.

Justice Barlow has scheduled a sentencing hearing for November 6, 2024.
Until then, Willings will remain on remand.

The case dates back to February 8, 2021, when Willings fatally stabbed 36-year-old Smith during an altercation at the ‘C’ Field Reserve Dam in Sophia.

According to police reports, Smith was at home when a confrontation broke out between him and Willings, who was armed with a knife.

The altercation escalated, and Willings stabbed Smith three times—once in the chest, once in the lower abdomen, and another above the left knee—before fleeing the scene.

Emergency services arrived quickly, but despite their efforts, Smith was pronounced dead shortly after the incident.

Following the stabbing, Willings was apprehended and initially charged with murder.

Magistrate Rochelle Liverpool presided over the preliminary inquiry at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court, where she determined there was sufficient evidence to commit Willings to stand trial in the High Court.
The trial, which lasted several days, culminated in the jury’s decision to convict Willings.