Murderer gets less than 7 years for cutting wife’s throat

St Vincent native Lennox Da Silva has been slapped with a six-and-a-half year prison sentence for killing his wife at their Greenland apartment in Tortola, British Virgin Islands roughly two years ago.

His sentence is to take effect on the date he was first placed on remand.

“You have brought pain and anguish to the family … But, you have shown remorse, and I wish you well,” Justice Ann-Marie Smith said after handing down the sentence on Friday, the bvinews.com reported.

According to that media house, the court said the murder was aggravated by the fact that it took place in the presence of children. She said the crime was further aggravated by the use of a murder weapon and the fact that the offender made attempts to leave the crime scene before police arrived.

On the other hand, the court said the fact that Da Silva took responsibility for the offence, his ‘exemplary behaviour’ while on remand, his show of remorse, his no previous convictions and his early guilty plea were mitigating factors that worked to his benefit The court said it also noted that the offender was ‘provoked by the victim’.

Impact statement

An impact statement written by the victim’s older sister, who is now the caretaker of the deceased woman’s children, said the youngsters are still affected by the grisly murder.

The court heard that the victim’s daughter has been recounting the events while the son refuses to speak about it, the statement reportedly said.

Model inmate

In the meantime, a report from Her Majesty’s Prison indicates that Da Silva is an exemplary inmate with good conduct.

The court heard that he acts as a mentor for other prisoners and is currently a bass guitarist at the penitentiary.

He is also involved in church.

Incident affected him too And according to psychiatrist Dr June Samuel’s report of the offender, Da Silva was also affected by the incident.

The report, Justice Smith said, indicated that he had flashbacks, suffered from anxiety, and had difficulty sleeping.

‘She cheated on me‘ Meanwhile, the court heard that after cutting his wife’s throat, Da Silva reportedly told his nextdoor neighbour that his slain wife was unfaithful.

“Man, she got pregnant for someone else and got an abortion,” he reportedly said.

The court heard that Da Silva further told his neighbour that his late wife was sexually involved with two other men so he followed her to Pockwood Pond and witnessed her unfaithfulness on the night in question.

When she came home, she was reportedly peeved that he had followed her and started packing her bags to leave him, the court heard.

An argument ensued between the two, and she reportedly told him that gunmen should have killed him in Jamaica, referring to an incident which took place while they were in her home country.

Reports are that a gunman had shot Da Silva multiple times at her family’s residence in the Old Pasley area of Palmers Cross, Clarendon.

That incident was labelled as a robbery at the time.

“I felt like an evil spirit came over me … I saw black,” Da Silva said while recalling the night of the murder.

The offender killed his wife Sherika Nelson-Da Silva on Saturday, June 10, 2017.(bvinews.com)