A DEMERARA High Court judge has sentenced Terrence Jackson to 25 years in prison for the 2020 murder of his estranged wife, Somattie Keosoram, a 44-year-old mother of six who was brutally stabbed to death at her Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD) home.
The sentence was imposed recently by Justice Sandil Kissoon after Jackson was convicted of murdering Keosoram, who was killed on January 23, 2020.
Evidence presented revealed that Keosoram was attacked during a violent confrontation at her home at around 19:30hrs (7:30 p.m).
She had sustained multiple stab wounds about her body and her throat was slit in the presence of one of her daughters, who was just 16 years old at the time.
The gravely injured woman was rushed to the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
A post-mortem examination later confirmed that she died as a result of multiple stab wounds.
Jackson, then a 56-year-old rice-mill employee, fled the scene on a bicycle immediately after the attack. The police apprehended him the following morning after he reportedly attempted to take his own life by hanging.
He was subsequently charged with murder and appeared before the Mahaica Magistrate’s Court. As the offence was indictable, he was not required to enter a plea and was remanded to prison pending the hearing and determination of a preliminary inquiry (PI).
At the conclusion of the PI, the presiding magistrate ruled that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence to proceed with the case against Jackson.
He was subsequently committed to stand trial before a judge and jury at the Demerara Criminal Assizes in the High Court of Demerara.
Investigations revealed that Jackson and Keosoram had shared a long-term relationship that had deteriorated over years of alleged domestic abuse.
Keosoram had ended the relationship approximately three years before her death and moved to Cane Grove with her six children in an effort to escape the abuse.
Despite the separation, Jackson reportedly continued visiting the home and had moved back into the house without Keosoram’s permission less than a month before the fatal attack.
It was further reported that the couple became involved in a heated argument on the evening of the murder after Keosoram told Jackson to leave the home. He allegedly refused, and the dispute escalated into violence, ending with the fatal stabbing.
