Joiner jailed for 8 years, 7 months for killing lover

One slap is all that her lover says he did to cause the death of 18-year-old Katisha Bess before he dumped her at Kings Hill Forest; a slap which he had delivered in an argument over $700.

Medford Caine was Bess’ senior by 31 years, and married, when he and Bess were said to be engaging in an intimate relationship.

It was this relationship that caused the two of them to be at Canash beach on June 29, 2015, according to the facts that were relayed at the High Court last Friday, October 25.

Bess left her home on that day, and was last heard from at 2:20pm.

“That was when she telephoned her sister-in-law from the prisoner’s telephone. There was a brief conversation wherein she relayed that she was on her way to Kingstown with the prisoner,” Justice Brian Cottle stated. They were in Byera then, Bess had informed her sister in law.

Her body wasn’t found until July 1, when the Forestry Officers were at the Kings Hill Forest Reserve. The police, who knew through the post mortem that she had died from blunt force trauma inflicted to the head, began their investigations.

Caine was picked up and interviewed and he told the police that he and Bess were at Canash Beach and had just engaged in sexual intercourse in his car. After this, he said that Bess asked for $700 to buy a cellular phone but he denied her, saying he had no money. This apparently caused an argument.

“He tried to restrain her from walking away. She slapped him twice. He retaliated by striking her with his hand. She collapsed. She did not move thereafter,” the Justice stated.

Caine told the police that he became confused, tried to assist her, then picked her up and put her in the vehicle. He drove to Kings Hill Forest and dumped her there.

He cooperated with the police and took them to various places where the incident had occurred.

Recently, before his trial, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter and the prosecution, led by Rose Ann-Richardson accepted it.

His lawyer Kay Bacchus-Baptiste made a number of points on his behalf. She said that Caine still has a good relationship with his wife. “They have a good relationship with one another. I think she has forgiven him for the fact that he strayed and as he said, she visits him weekly (in prison),” the lawyer informed the Justice.

Caine, now 53 years old, and the father of three adult children, was a joiner by a profession who worked at OT Mayers before being incarcerated, she noted.

“Since he had been incarcerated, he has been giving up his skills to many prisoners over there. He goes to the shop and teaches them his trade. Up to yesterday, that is what he was doing,” Bacchus-Baptiste stated.

She told the court that her client has never gotten into any serious altercations in his life, and he has a clean record.

“Though he was not forthright in the beginning, he actually co-operated with the crown and were it not for his co-operation they might not have been able to get certain evidence in the matter,” the attorney commented.

The Justice also noted these elements before sentencing. He began with the recognized notional sentence for manslaughter of 15 years in prison.

He found that it was aggravating that Caine tried to conceal the offence, but found that this was “counterbalanced by the cooperation he has displayed when dealing with the investigating authorities.”

Taking into account his remorse, and hitherto clean record, he reduced the sentence to 13 years.

Due to the one third discount, the final sentence was eight years and seven months.

Caine already spent four years, three months and 18 days in jail, and so this was subtracted, leaving a remaining sentence of four years, three months and 12 days.